Intrigued by Her

George took the morning off to get a shower and think about the things that Verity had said. She seemed to have a decent plan, but somehow George didn't exactly believe her about her feelings. She seemed to be on edge about something and it wasn't her love for him. Hermione, on the other hand, wanted to be with him…of that he was sure. He sipped on a flagon of spiced pumpkin juice as he went over in his head why Verity would possibly want to deceive him. She had seemed to quite like Ron until he found her in his bed the previous morning.

He popped into the shop just before lunch to find his two employees locked in a passionate embrace, several customers looking on in amazement. "What's going on, here?" he asked loudly, startling the lovers out of their reverie. Verity jumped when she spotted him and pushed Ron away from her.

"What are you doing, Ronald?" she asked.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked before his eyes settled on his brother's strange gaze. His face flushed bright red and he followed George and Verity into the back of the shop after his brother motioned.

"You two can't just stop in the middle of work for a good snogging session!" George said, trying to keep his voice even, but even more desperate to get his point across. Things were getting very strange in the way of Verity, and he was a bit worked up about that as well.

"I'm so sorry, George," Verity crooned attempting to press herself up against him. He stepped carefully out of her way, however.

"Look, Verity, I know you're interested in Ron. I don't know why you decided to try and woo me, but it's not working. I just thought that perhaps you could help me bring Fred back…we need to take a step back and reevaluate what our priorities are," he told her.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "What's going on?"

"She slept with me…wanted to 'help me get Fred back.' Sorry…I thought maybe she was capable of telling the truth about that. Sorry, mate," he said, clapping his brother on the back.

"You slept with George?" Ron asked the girl, incredulously.

"I thought perhaps I could cheer him up."

"How did you plan on getting out of brining Fred back?" Ron wanted to know. "And why would you do something like that without asking me…I thought we were…exclusive." His face was a delicate shade of pink and he refused to meet George's eyes.

"Perhaps I should leave the two of you alone for a bit," the older man said, deciding it best to return to his shop. He left Ron glaring and Verity blushing furiously.

Ron returned to work not long after George had given his employees space and looked up at his brother sheepishly. "Sorry. I suppose it wasn't your fault. She's sometimes a bit irresponsible, though."

"It's alright," George sighed. "But for a while I thought she would be able to…never mind. It was stupid of me to think, anyway."

"I understand," Ron told him, taking over the register. There was a moment of silence, then George turned to look at his younger brother.

"So are the two of you…together?"

"Yea. After Hermione and I didn't really work out, I started talking to Verity. She seemed to understand and helped me get over it. She's just a bit overly zealous in her quest to help people," Ron explained. "I don't think she meant to hurt you…just to make you forget about your loss."

"How did she know about time turners?"

"Oh…well Hermione told me a story about having one once and I passed it on…it was really interesting. They saved Buckbeak and Sirius that way."

George's eyebrows shot into his hair. "Do you think Hermione still has one?"

"I dunno. Probably. She's responsible and whatnot, so I don't think they'd take it back after her classes were over."

"Hmm…"

"Are you…in love with Hermione?" Ron asked suddenly, breaking into George's thoughts. He nearly dropped the packet of fireworks he was holding. He quickly handed them to the paying customer and coughed before meeting Ron's eyes.

"I…I don't know."

"I'm alright with it," Ron stated. "If you want to be with her…"

"Oh. Thanks."

Things were awkwardly silent until the next customer approached the register and George clapped his brother on the back. "I'm just going to pop into the back and check on Verity."

"Alright."

George found the girl reapplying makeup in the dirty mirror he had hung up in the employee office. "Are you alright?" he asked. He forced himself to be calm around her, not wanting to make her feel bad or uncomfortable.

"I'm fine," she replied quietly. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't mention it. Thank you though…for what you tried to do."

Verity turned a light shade of pink. "I just wanted to help."

"Are you and Ron ok?" he asked.

"I think so. We're really in love, you see. I just…I don't know. I want your family to like me." She blushed a bit darker.

"We do like you," he told her. "You're great."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about going back to work until you're ready."

"I'll go back now."

"Ok."

George was left standing in the back for several moments, thinking over what had gone on in the last twenty-four hours. At least he had found the one he was looking for, he thought to himself, letting his head drop back as he rubbed his temples. He returned to the front in time to see Hermione enter and he took her to lunch and tried to forget what crazy things plagued his mind.