WHO: Katie Bell & George Weasley WHAT: George visits the Bell home. WHEN: Sunday, May 27th, evening WHERE: Arran, Scotland WARNINGS: Nope!
There were times when Katie had found the island that her family called home to be smaller and more isolated than it really was, difficult to find space in and too empty all at the same time. Even the neighbouring houses seemed too far away, but the neighbours somehow omnipresent, everything overwhelmingly irritating until she’d had to leave it all behind. Leaving had changed everything and she was still overjoyed to be back, finding excuses to go on her favourite jogging route by the water or just sit outside in the night air. Even the midges couldn’t annoy her too much — but given time she’d probably find that drawback of rural Scotland as infuriating as before.
She was sat outside again on the stone bench that lay just outside their house, the property wards still not adjusted to allow apparition any closer to the house. That spell had been a problem back when she’d been sneaking out to join the Order meetings or activities but now it was something of a reassurance. She had her legs crossed and her elbows resting on her knees, hands propping up her chin as she waited for George.
With a crack, George appeared a few feet beyond the apparition border Katie had shown him and he smiled when he blinked to see her waiting. He didn’t look as much a wreck as he had the week before. Since Fred had woken up, he’d actually gotten some decent sleep and a couple showers in, and any traces of his fights at Hogwarts had been able to be completely healed within the week.
He held his arms out to the sides in a showy sort of entrance. “Katie!” he called out, as if he was pleasantly surprised to see her.
She uncurled her legs and stood up upon seeing him appear, closing the gap between them with a couple of strides and smiling wide as he said her name. “Hey, you look better!” Katie was quick to remark upon first glance at his face. “I got back from the Woods’ a bit ago and it’s so nice out, isn’t it nice out? So I reckoned waiting out here would be nice and —” Katie pulled him into a hug, her rambling words interrupted by her own actions. “You look good. Better!”
George chuckled, grinning a bit as he wrapped his arms around her, hand sliding up into her hair and holding her there for a long moment. “Amazing what sleeping and bathing like a normal human being can do for your look,” he teased. Katie had sat with him through more of it than he could have ever deserved, and his chest tightened at the thought that he was only really registering the gratitude for it now. Now that he felt like his world wasn’t on the edge of turning completely upside-down. He pressed his lips to her hair for just a moment, not sure who else might be around to catch him lingering. “I feel better.”
“You know what I mean,” Katie softly contradicted his teasing, face buried in his shoulder until she felt that light pressure on the top of her head. Her head tilted up almost instantly, looking up at and watching him. “You look better,” she repeated herself, no longer rambling through her words.
She caught herself gazing at him and smiled. “Welcome to my home, middle of nowhere,” Katie joked lightly. “It's really good to be back here.”
He smiled back and gave her another squeeze. “I bet!” Reaching up to brush some hair back over her shoulder, he sighed, content. It felt like ages since they’d been able to just walk around where they used to spend time and not worry about being targetted or arrested or worrying about someone dying any day. “Parents not on your nerves just yet?”
Katie took his hand in hers, unwilling to leave that hug just yet but all too aware of how much she was lingering over the embrace. “Give them time,” Katie said, ready to be realistic. “I expect a few days in it’ll be back to the usual routine, getting crabby at me for having too much of a lie-in or forgetting to put something away or all those things that parents do,” she smiled, the idea of her parents chiding her being such a normal thing to do that it seemed nice. “They’re out tonight,” her gaze flickered back to George’s face briefly, “so you don’t have to witness any of that.”
Nodding, George threaded his fingers in hers, relaxing now that he knew no parents would be spying on them through the windows. With a grin, he bounced his eyebrows. “No parents around, eh? Sounds like a nice night for my handsome company,” he teased. “Did you plan this just to get me alone, Ms. Bell?” he feigned dramatically.
“You were the one who was so eager to see me tonight,” Katie reminded him, eyebrows raised as though she were oblivious to his teasing — although the smile on her face betrayed that idea in an instant. “I can’t possibly think why, though,” she tugged gently on his hand, ready to lead him on a walk through the garden. “Did you miss me?” She grinned.
A bit reluctantly, George released his embrace and settled into step beside her, hand still holding her own. “I did, if you can believe it. Now that I’m not having to take care of Fred’s sorry arse every waking minute I remembered there was someone else I should really be spending some time with….” His eyes arced toward the sky as if he had to think about it for a minute then looked back down at her a little more soberly as they moved along the garden path.
“How’ve you been, though? Like, really. Now that-” he paused, not sure how to vocalise the state he’d been when he thought he might lose Fred. “Now that you don’t have to worry about me flying off the handle.”
She walked slowly, ambling without any determination. It felt as though it had been forever since she’d just walked and wandered and not had any sense of urgency about her. Katie looked up towards the sky, the shadowy clouds and the dim light as she considered her answer. “Not really busy but just keeping moving, you know? Went to see Lee, visited family. Starting to get things together here, wrote to a few places for a job. Working out where I am with things in life. Can’t really stay here forever, right?” Her smile was wry for a moment. “How about you? Still not flying off the handle?”
“Yeah, I’m better now. For the most part,” he replied honestly, stuffing his free hand in his trouser pocket as they walked. Smiling a bit, George cocked his head at her. “You know if you need a letter of recommendation… and you’d be welcome back whenever we do get the shop back off the ground if you need some coin in the meantime.” He knew better though. She was destined for greater things than being their shop clerk.
Suddenly guilty that she hadn’t ever mentioned another job before, Katie turned quickly to look at him. “I’m looking for something — I don’t mean that I don’t want to work with you again!” she spoke hastily, “And I really enjoyed it and you both did me such a favour giving me work, honest.” Katie grimaced a little. “I just need to find what I want to do, I guess?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Not that I don’t want to work for you both,” she finished up lamely, silently cursing herself for not having mentioned it in a less off-hand way.
George’s eyes widened as he watched her flounder and let out a laugh. “Katie! Merlin, Fred and I love your company but we’ve never expected you to stick around. You should be playing Quidditch or becoming a trainer or running your own business, whatever the hell makes you happy.” He lifted her hand so he could squeeze it between his. “We want you to find what you want to do. And we know being a shop clerk probably isn’t Katie Bell’s calling… even with amazing employers like us.” He winked.
Heartened by the wink, Katie seemed to visibly relax a little. “Well, you’re alright. I’m not sure I’d go as far as amazing,” she teased him, her tone softening as she started to talk again. “But if you ever need help with anything, tell me? I can even help train whoever else you get in. Your New-Katie,” her gaze fell briefly to their entwined hands, then back up to his face. “I can do that. It’s the least I can do.”
“There will never be a ‘New-Katie’, Katie,” he told her with a squint, letting go with one hand and letting the ones still clasped fall to their sides again. “But yeah, we’ll let you know if a rookie could use some training once we get one. Will be a bit though and if you have time to kill I’m sure we’d still like help restocking and organizing the inventory.”
They walked quietly for another moment, George mulling things over a bit distractedly in his mind. “Definitely let me know about that letter, though. I’ll leave out ‘great snog’ in your skills since that’d look weird.”
Katie laughed softly. “Maybe I should get Fred to write it, he might be a bit more objective and less personal than you,” she suggested.
Pretending to look skeptical, he slowed to a stop. “Hmmm... That could be true…” George slowly admitted, eventually letting himself grin, gazing down at her affectionately. “I’ll give it a once-over just to make sure it sounds charming enough.” There was another pause and he pressed his lips together. “Hey, speaking of personal, actually, I had a question for you…”
She caught his eye briefly as he looked down at her, her smile a little wider as she started to feel more optimistic about the future. She’d maybe said goodbye to some of her earlier dreams, but she was confident that there was something out there for her to make a living from. Her meandering thoughts were abruptly halted as George spoke again, and Katie turned to look at him once more. “Yeah? What’s up?”
George’s smile turned a bit uncharacteristically twinged with nerves and he exhaled a soft laugh. “So, no pressure, first off - this-” he lifted their held hands and gestured between them with his other “- has been… really really nice, and if this is how you want it to stay, I am perfectly happy with that…” Disclaimer done, he took a deep breath. “But… well… now that the war’s… well- actually over. And we’re not worried we could just up and die at any bloody minute, or it’s at least much less likely… and…” He grimaced slightly, irritated with himself for rambling.
“Basically, if you’re interested, and if you don’t mind me being a completely work-obsessed wanker sometimes… I think I might be an alright boyfriend?” He lifted his shoulders in a helpless sort of shrug. The usual confidence and swagger George Weasley pretended to have gone in favor of letting this beautiful girl next to him know that he was willing to look a fool for her if it meant being honest.
Katie listened patiently, all too aware that her face felt a little warm and her stomach a little wobbly as he spoke. It was the honesty that she found the most endearing, and she found herself giving him a shy little nod. “This was really nice while everything was shit,” she agreed quietly, “But it’s even nicer now we have time.” Shyness evaporating as she spoke, she turned to face him completely and rose up onto her toes to kiss him.
“I think I might be an alright girlfriend,” she echoed his words against his lips, “If you want.”
Letting out a relieved laugh, he grinned immediately and nodded before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him to kiss her deeply. It was the second time in a week now he’d felt a weight lift from his heart, letting it beat excitedly. When he finally pulled away to catch his breath, he rested his forehead against hers and continued beaming. “Who am I kidding, it’s us. We’ll be bloody brilliant.”