Chapter 22 - Dates
George pulled me into the boathouse where a fire was blazing, and I quickly shed of my coat and gloves. A decked table was standing on the edge of the boathouse that looked over the lake. Candles were scattered around the room, music playing softly in the background. I smiled at George when he came back after putting my things away.
"All this for a date?" I leaned into him as he stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Not just a date, our first date." He said before he placed a kiss in my neck. I tilted my head to look at him.
"You're setting the bar high for future dates, you know." I smirked, his eyes twinkled as he looked at me and started to lean down. "Sorry." I placed a finger on his lips and his eyebrows disappeared behind his hair. "I don't kiss on the first date."
"What about five minutes ago?" He asked baffled.
"We weren't on a date then." I clicked my tongue. George pursed his lips before he gave me another lopsided grin and unwrapped his arms. I pouted at the loss of touch, but George just moved the chair for me to sit in. I smiled at him as he sat down on the other side of the table.
"Cider?" He asked holding up my favourite bottle.
"How did y– Cedric?" I interrupted myself as I held out my glass.
"He may have given me some pointers." I smiled a little as he filled the glass.
"It's still weird you became so close all of the sudden." I looked over the rim of my glass to him.
"Common interests." He winked and I rolled my eyes. With a wave of his wand two plates of pasta came flying over. "Dig in." He grinned before he turned his fork in the pasta.
"So, what's going on with Bagman?" I asked after dinner. George looked at me with the largest eyes I've ever seen, making me chuckle. "I've seen you and Fred trying to talk to him. I even heard you two mutter his name under your breaths."
"You're too perceptive." George leaned back with a grin. I noticed his face shift for a split second, and if I wasn't watching him or knew him, it would have passed me.
"You don't need to tell me."
"No, it's not that…" He rubbed his hand over his face. "I want to, but I don't know if Fred wants me to."
"Forget I mentioned it. Tell about the daydream charms you're working on." I changed to subject. "Still having trouble?"
"Yeah, we're stuck on the timing…" He started telling everything about their progress and fails. That was one of the things she learned early on, if you want to change a subject quickly with the twins, throw in a question about on of their products. I smiled as I leaned my head on my hand and watch his eyes twinkle as he spoke.
We were walking hand in hand towards the Hufflepuff commons after the date ended, the corridors empty as it was near curfew. George twirled me around when we reached the commons and once again, I landed flush against him.
"Thank you for this, George. I had an amazing time."
"Me too." His smile wide. "So, can I take you on another date?"
"I need to sleep on that." I grinned. His hand squeezed my waist and his eyes darkened.
"Maybe I should sleep with you, so that I'm sure you make the right decision."
I licked my lips and push him away. "Going slow, remember?"
"I know." He said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Goodnight, George." I kissed his cheek lightly before pulling back. "I'll see you in Alchemy."
"Not even a kiss?" He pouted.
"No kissing on the first date, Georgie." I grinned before I turned and walked in the common room.
"Night, love." I heard him say before the wall closes behind me.
I had seen George in the great hall, he had winked at me as I sat myself down with Lyra, Odin and Cedric at the Hufflepuff table. But other than that, I haven't seen him, I was now walking towards our first Alchemy class after break when an arm pulled me into a secluded alcove. I expected it to be George. I didn't expect it to be Luke who had pulled me in.
"Luke?" I frowned. "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry. I needed to talk to you." Luke said leaning on the wall opposite of me.
"Are you okay?" I asked, placing my hand on his lower arm.
"Define okay." He chuckled dryly. "Maggie says she's pregnant."
"No!" I let out a small gasp.
"She says it's mine."
I frowned as I did the calculations in my head. "But she must be at least four months pregnant then."
"That's what she says. But we were always careful. I used a charm every time!"
"I believe you." I pulled him into a hug. "We'll figure this out, I promise."
"You don't have to." He whispered in my hair.
"I know I don't. I want to. I don't believe it's yours or maybe if she even is pregnant. You're my friend since second year." I pulled out of the hug and squeezed his friend. "I won't let you go through this alone."
"You are an amazing friend, Gwen."
"I try to." I shrugged with a grin. "Give me a few days, I'll figure out the truth."
"Just… be careful. Maggie can be-"
"Oh, I know." I chuckled as we walk out of the alcove. I didn't see George standing in front of the Alchemy classroom, I didn't see that he saw me and Luke coming out of an alcove and hug each other. By the time I turned around he was already inside the classroom.
"Hi." I smiled as I dropped down next to him. George had his gaze fixed on the board in front of him. "George?
"What about friday?" He slowly turned his eyes towards me, looking serious.
"Friday?"
"For our second date."
"Do you already have something in mind?" I grinned as I tilted my head.
"Maybe." He smiled, but there was something off. His smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Geo-" I started but stopped when the professor walked in.
"Good afternoon, I hope you two had a nice Christmas." Abbo smiled as he hopped on his desk and rubbed his hands together. "Because break's over and we're flying right back into it." I glanced over at George, but he didn't meet my eye, I sighed inwardly and looked back to Abbo.
The rest of the week George acted normal, talked and flirted with me, but he also was more distant. It was hard to place what was going on with him. I didn't have a chance to ask Fred or Lee because they always travelled together. So, when Fred finally joined our lesson of Herbology, after skipping the first two, I jumped at the chance to ask him about it. When Fred was elbow deep in a pot of fertilizer, I cleaned my hands on my apron and turned to him.
"Uhm, Fred?"
"Yeah?" He asked with a scrunched-up nose from the smell.
"Is George mad at me or something?" I looked to Fred, trying to gauche his reception. But he didn't give away much. The most defining tell was that he was silent for a second too long.
"Not that I know of." He finally said, pulling his arm out of the pot. I cleaned his arm with a wave of my wand, and he smiled. "Thanks."
"Fred, you're not telling me something."
"George told me you were perceptive." He said as he picked up the Sneezewort.
"And you're changing the subject." I put my hands on my hips.
"Guinevere..." He turned to me after he put the plant in the pot. "Talk to George tonight, you have your date, don't you?"
"Yeah, but-"
"He will tell you. I promise." He said placing his hands on my shoulders. "Now help me repot the last one." He winked and turned me towards the plants. I chuckled lightly and helped him prepare the last assignment. With Fred's reassurance and his easy-going ways, I quickly forgot about George's behaviour. He was teasing me when we walked out of the greenhouse, and I ran after him laughing. When I caught up with him, I jumped on his back, and he easily carried me through the corridors.
"Thanks for the lift, Sir Frederick." I grinned as he put me down when we entered the great hall.
"Anytime, Queen Guinevere." He bowed and kissed my hand. I shook my head laughing, before I headed to the Hufflepuff table.
"You and George going public now?" Lyra asked with a grin.
"That was Fred." I nudged my head to the table as Fred said down next to his twin.
"How do you tell them apart?" Odin asked as he looked over his shoulder to the Gryffindor table.
"It's not that hard." I shrugged. "Even Cedric is starting to recognize them." I nudged Cedric with a grin.
"I mostly recognize George because of his lovesick puppy eyes for you." He smirked and I slapped his arm.
I didn't know what time or where to meet George for our second date, so after I had my dessert and a large part from the great hall was already gone, I rose from my seat and walked to the doors. The Gryffindor table was already empty except for a few seventh years. I was just a meter out of the great hall before and arm pulled me to the side. I screeched a little from the sudden jolt, but my heartbeat slowed when I saw it was George.
"Can't you just announce yourself or something?" I gave him a half-hearted glare.
"What's the fun in that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I huffed at him but couldn't hold back a smile. "Let's go." He took my hand and pulled me through the corridor.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He answered and I gave up. I knew I wasn't finding out before we got there, but next time I will plan the date and he won't know where we are going. We walked for a solid ten minutes before we stopped in front of the stairs that went to the astronomy tower. George winked at me before he held open the door and he let me go in first. When I reached the top of the stairs, the sky was filled with stars, a full moon brought light over the black lake. When I glanced to my right, I saw a picnic blanket and some pillows on the floor. "So, what do you think?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my waist from behind me.
"You did good." I chuckled and I turned in his arms. "It's beautiful. Of course, I've been here before with classes and all, but this..." I gestured around us. "This is perfect."
"Hm." He hummed, his eyes flickering from my eyes to my lips. "Do you kiss on your second date?"
"Depends on how well it goes. Maybe and the end, if it goes well?" I smirked up at him as I circled my arms around his neck.
"You're killing me." He groaned, making me laugh and I pulled him to the ground. I was surprised he had put a cushioning charm on the blanket. I don't know why I was surprised; it was something George would do.
"George... you've been acting weird all week. Is there something wrong?" I asked as I handed him one of the butterbeers he had stored in a basket. George started fumbling with the bottle cap in his hands, suddenly nervous.
"No, I – Okay, let me just-" He babbled nervously. I placed him hand over his and he took in a deep breath. "I was just wondering – if you wanted to make this official? Us, I mean."
"Official, as in..." I let the sentence hang there on purpose as a large smile appeared.
"My girlfriend!" He nearly shouted. "Would you be my girlfriend?"
I climbed on his lap with a smile, my arms around his neck in an instant. And instead of answering I placed my lips over his. I tilted my head a little when the kiss deepened, and George groaned into my mouth as his hands grabbed my waist. We pulled back after we both desperately needed air.
"I thought you weren't kissing me until the end of the second date?"
"But I'm not just kissing my date." I said slowly as I kissed his neck, his head fell back as his grip tightened. "I'm kissing my boyfriend."
George groaned as he flipped me over, so I landed softly on the blanket, him hovering over me with darkened eyes. "I like the sound of that." A wolfish grin in place. He kissed me passionately before he sucked on my neck, as my nails dug into his back. I know he wanted more, I wanted more, but it was too soon. We both knew it, so after ten minutes of kissing and fumbling, George rolled off me and pulled me against him. We stared at the stars in silence for a while, just enjoying being together.
"Was that why you were acting weird this week, because you wanted to ask me to be your girlfriend?" I tilted my head to look at him and saw a crease form between his eyes.
"Yes and no. I saw you come out of the alcove with Luke on Monday."
"George-"
"No, it's okay. We weren't together, we didn't say we were exclusive. But that's why I wanted to ask you, so you're mine and mine alone." I pushed myself up and placed my hand on his chest as I looked down at him and laughed a little. "You find that funny?"
"Just a little." I grinned but when George started to pull away, I quickly added. "Not the girlfriend part. But at the part that you thought something happened between me and Luke." I sat up straight and pulled him up with me, so we faced each other. "I'm going to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone. Alright you can tell Fred." I rolled my eyes as he began to open his mouth. His closed it again with a grin. "I could actually use your help for this."
I told George what happened in the alcove, what Luke told me and that I was planning on figuring out the truth. And George was more than willing to help me formulate the perfect plan. So, we talked and planned the whole thing that night and we were going to inform Luke about it the next day. It was way past curfew when they finally made it back down the astronomy tower and when George heard footsteps, he pulled her in an empty classroom.
"Maybe you should come to the Gryffindor tower with me. The chances of you getting caught going to the Hufflepuff commons is too great. The tower is closer."
"Is that a way to get me into your bed, Mr Weasley?" I grinned up at him and was happy when I saw his neck and ears turn red. "It's fine by me."
"Really?" His voice and octave higher than normal.
"Yeah, I trust you." I kissed him lightly. "But can we go, I'm actually getting tired." I licked my lips as I met his eyes. I saw his Adams apple move as he swallowed thickly, and he cleared his throat.
"Yeah, let's go." He stuck out his head and after a quick scan of the perimeter before he pulled me up the stairs towards the tower. We had to duck twice before we reached the portrait, once for Filch and once for the head boy from Slytherin.
When we climbed through the portrait, only Lee and Fred were sitting in front of the fire and Hermione was tucked away on the windowsill with a book.
"Is it Mr and Mrs Weasley now?" Fred smirked as we walked in.
"We're not married you oaf." I clapped him on the back of the head. "Hi, Lee." I kissed Lee on the cheek before I turned to Hermione and sat down next to her. "Hey, Hermione."
Hermione startled a bit from the sudden intrusion and looked at me wide-eyed before she glanced around the room. "For a minute I thought I was in the library." She chuckled. "What are you doing here?"
"Date ran long." I shrugged. "And I was surely going to get caught if I went all the way back to our commons."
"But where will you sleep?" She asked innocently. I heard the boys behind me snicker and shot a glare over my shoulder that shut them up.
"I think I have some room in my bed." George walked over and wrapped his arms around my shoulder.
"You can't! That's against the rules." Hermione gasped, nearly dropping her book.
"Hermione, from what I've heard you have broken more rules than the twins combined."
Hermione opened her mouth and shut it again, looking at little bit like someone bobbing for apples. I rose from the seat next to her and gave her a smile before turning to George.
"Ready?"
Before George had time to utter one single word, Lee and Fred jumped up next to him. "You can sleep in my bed, with me." Fred winked, earning a slap on the head from his twin.
"Or I have some room." Lee added.
"It's weird that I trust anyone of you." I chuckled. "But I prefer to cuddle up with my boyfriend then keep a respectful distance in bed with my friends."
"Fair point." Fred sighed dramatically. "Let's go then, lovebirds. Goodnight, Hermione." He winked at her before he darted up the stairs followed by Lee.
"Do you at least want to borrow pyjamas?" Hermione asked, standing up herself.
"I can transfigure this."
"No, you know they get all scratchy, let me just grab a pair for you." Before I had time to process, Hermione was already making her way up the stairs. I perched myself on the edge of the sofa and waited for her to come back down. It didn't take long, and not only a minute later Hermione was back down holding out a red and gold flannel pyjama.
"Red and old?" I quirked my eyebrow and Hermione shrugged.
"First one I could find."
"Right." I grinned. "Thanks, Hermione."
"No problem. Goodnight." She was already halfway up the stairs before she looked over her shoulder, her face red as a tomato. "Don't do anything. I heard that a seventh year is pregnant." And she disappeared on the stairs.
"I didn't think Hermione was a gossip." I said as George took me up the boys' dormitories.
"She usually isn't, but she really doesn't want us doing ... something."
"Something, huh?" I laughed and his ears turned red again.
"Uhm. Here is the bathroom." He stuck his head in for a second. "It's empty. You can change and brush your teeth there. Do you want me to grab my extra?"
"No, I think I can transfigure one." I kissed his cheek before I slipped into the bathroom. After I brushed my teeth, I put the transfigured toothbrush next to George's and changed into Hermione's pyjamas. When I opened the door, George was still standing there. "Do I have my personal guard now?"
"In a tower full of horny teenager boys? You bet you do." He winked. "You go on in. I'll be right there."
I walked into the boy's dormitory and saw that Fred and Lee had already gone to bed and closed their curtains. I placed my wand on the nightstand and crawled into bed. I just pulled the covers up when George walked in, still dressed. He took a pair of pyjama bottoms from his trunk and wanted to head back out.
"George, you can change here. If you want, I can even close my eyes." I teased. George looked from me to the door, before he shrugged and closed the door. He didn't ask me not to look, so I looked. Who wouldn't? My eyes roamed his body as he pulled of his shirt, his toned abbs and strong arms were filled with freckles. He jiggled out of his pants and pulled on the pyjama bottoms and went to pick up a shirt. "Leave it." I bit my lip as I looked to him. His eyes went wide before he tossed the shirt over his shoulder and hopped up in the bed, closing the curtains around us. I curled into him; my head on his bare chest and our legs intertwined. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close and my hand rested on his chest.
"Good night, love." He tipped my head as he placed his finger under my chin.
"Night, Georgie." I kissed him and pulled back before things got too heated and placed my head back on his chest. Sleep found me quickly and I felt George kiss the top of my head before I succumbed to it.