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I'm going to try and post really often because this is sort of a Christmas themed story and it wouldn't be as nice in January or anything.
Professor McGonagall was more than happy to give me permission for my prank and to see George attend. She said she would love it if he joined us for dinner as well, a twinkle in her eye that I hadn't seen in a while coming back as she spoke of him; apparently, every one adored the Weasley family. I kept the entire prank under wraps from everyone other than the Headmaster and George for maximum security.
I wrote him a few nights later and told him the plan. I gave him a time and a date and told him McGonagall linked the Floo in her office to the one at WWW so he could come through, seeing as Apparition wasn't allowed on the grounds of Hogwarts. I once again apologized for breaking the third snow globe before ending the letter and sending it to the flat above the shop with my owl Persephone.
I knew it would be hard for him to come here after everything he'd been through. It was the same for me, walking through the halls again after I'd seem them filled with such carnage was intense. It was almost too much until I started looking at the place through the eyes of the students, looking at it with the same lense as a first year coming into the Great Hall for the first time to be Sorted. That changed made everything beautiful and magical. My life changed forever and I loved where it went. I was happy to be at Hogwarts again.
After class the entire last week of term, I would sit in my classroom and try to figure out how to achieve an ultimate blizzard. The room itself was pretty big with very little empty space, I hoped the snow wouldn't melt and ruin anything. These were questions I should've asked George before I bought them, but I'd already said I wasn't a Ravenclaw for a reason. I was also so flustered when I checked out there was no way I would've remembered them.
I glanced at the clock on the wall before making my decision. I bundled myself up and went down to the front hall of the castle. A couple kids smiled and waved at me, but the majority of them were rushing off to start last minute parchments or goof around until dinner. I nodded at them as I made my way out of the castle and down to the gates so I could Apparate to Diagon Alley.
Once I landed in the familiar town, I buried my face in my scarf and trekked to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Just like I figured, the place was still open and brightly lit. I hurried over to the door and slid inside, happily accepting the warmth as it flooded my body.
"Lydia?" Ron asked, making my eyes flash over to him.
He was pulling on his jacket and getting ready to go outside. On second through, what time did this place close?
"I was looking for George, but I can just leave if you're closing," I replied, turning on my heel to head back out into the night.
"No, he's back in the office. Go straight through, it's right past the Skiving Snackboxes display," he told me.
I patted his arm in thanks as I followed his directions through the shop. It was weird to be inside the shop when there weren't people inside, even if the place still wasn't quiet. There was a whirling sound, a whooshing sound, and something that reminded me of a muggle carousel. I even heard the murmured coos of the Pygmy Puffs as they nestled down for the night.
I found George's office and saw the door was cracked a bit. Maybe he was busy and I was going to be interrupting him if I knocked. I could have just owled him with my questions, it would have been more practical than a sporadic visit. Merlin's beard, I had no common sense.
"Ron? Is that you?" he shouted from inside. Then I heard the sound of him walking across the floor to the door, "I swear if you forgot the locking spell again I'm going to hang you upside down in the middle of the Alley in only you're y-fronts, you bloody wanker."
"No, it's me. I had a couple questions about the snow globes," I said the second he opened the door and our eyes met. "I realized a couple moments ago I could've just owled you and avoided interrupting whatever important business you're attending to. I'm just going to go back to the castle and get a late dinner and go to bed. I'll just owl you tomorrow or never again and act like this didn't happen and I didn't just embarrass myself for the millionth time."
His lips turned up into a smile I hadn't seen before. All through school, he was constantly smiling and laughing but not like this. It was more with his eyes, and there was a softness to his features that was new. The look itself made my knees a bit weak and I felt my cheeks tinting pink.
"It's kind of cute when you do that, ya know?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorjamb. "What kind of questions do you have?"
"A couple actually so bear with me," I told him, reaching into the pocket of my jacket to pull out the list I'd scribbled down earlier.
I was looking at the parchment so I didn't notice when George took a step back until I heard the door squeak. When I looked up, I saw him flashing the same soft smile at me and gesturing for me to come inside with him.
"Do you want to come in and sit down?" he asked. "Or better yet, do you want to go grab a late bite seeing as you've missed dinner by now?"
His jacket was hanging on a hook next to the door and the sleeves of his button up shirt were rolled up to his elbows with his tie loosened around his neck. When I glanced before him, I saw his chair pushed out with an empty spot on the desk where his feet had probably been earlier. He was relaxing after work and I interrupted.
"You were trying to relax and I interrupted. I'm sorry!" I told him reaching out and grabbing his bicep. "I'm just going to go, I'll see you."
"Lydia Duke, let me take you to dinner so we can talk," he told me, his tone playful. "I'm going to grab my coat and we're going to go."
He finished taking his coat off the hook and pulled it on. Then he led the way out of the shop with me by his side. I buried my face in my scarf once again and followed his head of red hair instead of watching where we were going.
I heard the sound of a bell ringing overhead as he pulled the door of the restaurant open for me. I quickly lifted my head but not fast enough, I heard him laughing as he followed me inside. Maybe looking like a turtle wasn't everyone's go-to during the cold months, but it had never steered me wrong.
I watched George catch the eye of a worker who gestured for him to sit anywhere he wanted. We found a table off in the corner and stripped out of our outer layers. He stood behind his chair until I sat before following me. That was sweet, he was a gentleman.
"So, what were those questions that couldn't be simply owled?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and smirking at me after we'd ordered our food.
I pulled the parchment back out of my pocket and smoothed it down on the table. "Uh, my most important question was if the snow from the globes melts and stains things."
"Nope, no stain guarantee or your money back," he answered. "Next question, please, Professor Duke."
That made me smile and some of the tension leave my body. Why was I so nervous to speak with him? It wasn't like we'd never spoken before or anything. Technically, the two of us were mates and old war buddies.
"I have Professor Burbage's old classroom. Did you ever have her class?" I asked. When he nodded, I continued, "So it's a large room, but it's full of stuff. How do I get the most snow out of the globes: placing them high or low?"
That kick started our conversation and kept us speaking until our plates were clean and we'd shared a treacle tart. He was reclining back in his chair again and my posture matched. I glanced down and saw his legs peeking out from the empty chair beside me.
"You are so tall! Your legs are on my side!" I exclaimed with a laugh.
He sat up quickly, making the chair beside me flip over backwards and me jump. He swore colorfully under his breath before standing up and positioning the chair back on its legs. Instead of going back to his seat, he sat down in the freshly righted chair and looked at me with the tips of his ears flushed red along with most of his face.
"That wasn't my plan, if you're curious," he told me a beat later.
"Ah, so you're not cool and collected all the time," I quipped, happy to not be the only one making a fool of myself.
"I seem to have fooled you, Professor Duke. I'm neither cool nor collected most days," he told me, reaching out and tapping the tip of my nose flirtatiously. "If you're worried about using the globes correctly, I could always come a little early and help you out. Only if you want, of course."
He said the last sentence in a rush, the words tumbling out of his lips on top of each other. Did I make him nervous? I wasn't aware George Weasley could ever be nervous, he was always so cool when we were at Hogwarts. Easily the most popular boy in our year along with Fred, every single person in the castle knew who he was.
"That sounds like a godsend, actually. I want this to be brilliant and I'm afraid I'll muck it up," I sighed, flipping my hair over my shoulder awkwardly.
He looked at me curiously and I realized he didn't understand my saying in the slightest. I didn't explain it, I just returned his smile instead. He was really attractive, always had been, but he looked older now. His hair was longer, not quite as long as our sixth year but still long, and he had a scruffy beard that was new.
He had his arm resting on the table and the watch on his wrist told me it was well after midnight. I had classes early in the morning. As much as I hated to end this thing, whatever it may be, I needed to turn in for the night.
"Wow, when did it get that late?" I asked, gesturing to his arm and watching as he raised his brows in surprise.
"I'm sorry for keeping you out so late, Professor, I really should get you back to the castle," he replied, standing up and moving behind me to assist in putting my jacket on.
Once we were rebundled, we went back outside into the deserted streets. I turned back to face him and saw him already watching me, his cheek turning red when he realized he'd been caught.
"Thank you so much for helping me and paying for dinner, no matter how much I argued," I told him, grinning despite the wind whipping at my exposed face.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to escort you back to the castle. I'd feel terrible if something happened from here to there," he told me, trying to be smooth but realizing the implication of his words a second later. "Not in a creepy way, in an endearing way. Bullocks, I need to stop talking before I make this worse."
I stepped back and placed my hand in the bend of his elbow. "Listen, George Weasley, the mindless babbling is my thing. You don't see me stepping on your heels, now do you?"
"Says the girl who's going to pull off a prank at Hogwarts," he grinned, falling back into playful mode easily. "You started this."
I rolled my eyes before bringing my wand out of my jacket pocket and co-apparating us back to the gates of the castle. I stepped away from his side and looked up at him, twisting my fingers awkwardly as I did.
"So, the last day of the semester is next Friday and I have my first class at eleven," I told him, trying to alleviate the tension in the air.
"I'll have Ron bring Harry with him to run the store and come to the castle at around nine or so, if that's okay," he suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll tell McGonagall about it tomorrow at breakfast," I replied. "Thanks again for dinner and for making sure I got back safely."
He opened his arms to me and took a step forward waiting for me to close the gap. I swallowed down my anxieties and hugged him, surprised by how warm he was. When I pulled back, I saw the familiar soft smile on his lips.
"I'll see you Friday," he told me.
I nodded and said the opening spell to the gate, walking inside and waiting for it to swing close behind me before I locked it back. George leaned against it and watched as I made my way back up to the castle itself. I pulled open the heavy doors and waved, watching as he Apparated away before going up to my quarters for the night.
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