Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

39. Just Like Old Times

Despite all of her objections, Verity and George still found themselves walking from the flat down the snow covered sidewalk to the Leaky Cauldron where all of their old school friends had agreed to meet for dinner and a few drinks.

"Are you really sure this is a good idea?" she asked, carefully tiptoeing around a thin sheet of ice on the pavement.

"I told you to stop worrying. It'll be like old times."

"Nothing is like old times anymore." she responded harshly, rolling her eyes.

"Not with that attitude."

Verity merely scoffed at his remark. While his therapy seemed to be doing him some good, she couldn't help but worry that they were walking right into a trap - one that George had set up for himself. The man had a horrible habit of self-sabotage and it seemed he was too oblivious to recognize the warning signs every single time.

"Have you spoken to Eloise lately?" she asked.

"Yeah, she wrote to me a few days ago asking how my first appointment went." he replied nonchalantly.

"That's good."

Knowing he and Eloise were still on speaking terms helped to calm Verity's nerves ever so slightly. Although she didn't doubt for a second that George had neglected to inform her that he was attempting to rebuild his friendship with his ex-girlfriend. Resentment grew inside Verity as she silently blamed George for making her an accomplice in something that certainly wasn't a crime, but may as well have been with how scummy she was feeling about the whole thing.

But perhaps having Maxwell around to occupy Eloise's time lately would help her not be so concerned with what George was up to. That's what Verity had to tell herself in order to not feel so guilty for enabling him to go down this route with Alicia. As much as she tried to convince him it was a mistake, he just continued to ignore her and tell her she worried too much.

Being the last business on Diagon Alley open that Friday night, the lights from the Leaky Cauldron's windows emitted a warm glow on the snow. When George pushed through the door, holding it open for Verity, he scanned over the crowd.

Most of the patrons of the pub that evening were middle-aged single wizards spending their night alone, seeming to have no family to go home to. That or they simply didn't care about whomever was waiting for them at home. But in a corner booth sat Alicia and Angelina, the latter of whom waved the two of them over.

Verity grumbled something under her breath, and although George couldn't make out exactly what she was saying he swore he heard her mention Lee's name. Perhaps the only reason she'd agreed to the whole idea in the first place was to see him - he was her first friend in their group after all.

As they approached the table, Verity plastered a sickeningly sweet smile that didn't have a single ounce of authenticity to it. Making a point to refuse to sit next to Alicia, the blonde slid in next to Angelina instead leaving George no choice but to sit beside his ex. This is fine he thought to himself, hoping that perhaps when Katie or Lee finally arrived he'd be able to have one of them sit between them.

"Have you two been waiting long?" George asked, attempting to break the ice, even though it seemed that Verity had every intention of freezing over whatever he broke.

"No, not too long." Alicia replied, giving him a warm yet slightly awkward smile.

It was obvious things still felt tense between them, but George had expected this. They were a work in progress, he knew it would take time. Thankfully though, Lee and Katie arrived only a moment later.