Rose Among the Thorns

Chapter 5- The Gentlemen's Lists

The Weasley brothers, along with Harry, Lee Jordan, and Neville sat at the Hogs Head, all of them except Bill, Percy and Harry clutching their lists in disbelief.

"Well I'll dance naked with a tea cozy, Katie Bell? I'll have to owl her," Fred said, examining his list. He frowned slightly. "Eloise Midgen?" he asked. "The bird with the crooked nose?"

Harry nodded. "One and the same."

"Let me think about it...no," Fred replied. "Who've you got?" he asked his twin, leaning over to steal a glance at George's list.

George snatched it away. He scanned down the list of names, his cheeks gaining colour as he reached the bottom.

"Who is it?" Fred demanded, grasping for his brother's list.

George jerked it away again. "Geroff! It's my list. Leave it."

"I bet I can guess who it is," Charlie said, an impish grin spreading across his face.

"Stuff it, Charlie," George growled irritably.

"Oohh, Georgie boy's got someone in mind already?" Fred laughed.

"C'mon now George, we'll find out soon enough," Bill coaxed, as interested as the rest of the group in the name of the girl who'd caught George's fancy.

George moved to stand but tripped on Neville's outstretched legs. As he steadied himself Fred used the moment to rip the list from his hands and dance across the room with it.

"Give that back, you!" George bellowed, clambering around the knot of chairs at their table.

Fred leaped over the bar to stand next to a bemused Aberforth, startling a small goat from its hiding place. "Not a chance, brother!" he jeered. He opened the list and started reading out names.

"Marietta Edgecome, too pimply... Hannah Abbot, she's on my list too, not bad... Evelyn O'Reiley, don't know her...Merlin's beard!" Fred stopped. "Of all the... Verity! Verity's on your list? Georgie boy that's perfect! She could help us manage the shops! Hey!"

Fred had finally stopped moving long enough for George to summon his list back. "It's not a business transaction, Fred. This is serious stuff."

His twin brother paused and looked at George in surprise. "Serious stuff? Since when have you ever been serious in your entire bloody life?"

"Since the Ministry started telling everybody what to do, you stupid arse," George replied, his hand back on his wand.

The group went silent.

"So who's on your list?" Charlie asked Neville, trying to break the tension.

"Yeah, Neville, who's on yours?" Fred and George chorused, their anger forgotten.

Neville turned red. "A fair few names," he replied.

George rolled his eyes. "Well then read them already!"

Neville turned redder and cleared his throat. "Cho Chang... Cyllis Fawcett...Daphne Greengrass...Esther Stein..."

"We're lucky we don't have to go through all this," Percy told Bill and Harry.

Bill smiled wistfully. "Ah, the joys of courtship. I remember the good old days..."

George laughed wickedly. "The days when you had to make Fleur sneak out your window when mum was bringing your laundry into your room?"

Bill grinned. "To return to the days of adventure."

Harry laughed. "I'm just glad Ginny was mad enough to marry me."

"Well, if she hadn't, I would have," Fred told him with a somber look on his face. Harry cuffed him playfully on the back of the head.

"Let's have a go at your list, Charles," George said.

Charlie swung his legs down off of the table and opened his list. "Veronica Lennox, she was in my year, Ravenclaw, I think... Fantasia Rhys-Andrews?" He looked questioningly at Bill.

"Year behind me, Hufflepuff," his brother replied. "She works in the Broom Regulatory Control Office."

"Right," Charlie replied.

"HERMIONE!" George bellowed. He and Fred had slipped behind Charlie and were reading the list over his shoulder.

"What?" Charlie asked bewilderedly, rubbing the ear George had just shouted into.

"Hermione's on your bloody list!"

"What?" Charlie scanned further down his list. "Where?"

Fred jabbed at the parchment. "There you blasted Squib."

Charlie looked where Fred's finger was, sure enough; Hermione J. Granger was visable under "Amethyst O'Toole."

Charlie ran his hand through his hair. "Jumping Acromantulas," he mumbled.

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