black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

George climbed the stairs back up to the flat one early February afternoon after escorting Olivia out, as she had to be off to work. As he knew he would, he encountered Fred up there waiting for him, grinning knowingly.

"Freddie," said George.

"Yes?" Fred urged him to go on.

"I think I want to marry her."

"I know you do, Georgie."

"What do I do?"

Fred smiled. "Well, first, you should probably get in good standings with her family."

"What? They like me."

"Yeah, that's exactly why her brother yelled at you the other day when he saw you with her."

"He didn't yell at me, he just..."

"...told you to step away in a threatening manner."

George sighed. "Yeah. Okay, how do I go about this?"

"Just talk to him, it can't be that hard. I don't think it's that he doesn't like you as a person, he liked you just fine back in Hogwarts, it's just because you're dating his sister. You know how it is with Bella and Ginny."

"Bella and Ginny's boyfriends have all been gits, Fred."

"Malfoy and that Michael Corner bloke, yeah, but I didn't think Dean was all that bad before he started dating Ginny."

"I guess not. So I get Oliver to be okay with me and then what? I start looking at rings?"

"No, no, no. After Oliver approves, then you have to ask him for permission. You might want to ask David too, just to be safe. You don't want him after you." Fred paused, thinking. "Maybe you should ask her mum, too? I don't know, George, this is a weird situation you've got yourself into."

"Yes, I see that now."

"It'll be okay, Georgie. I'm sure they'll all give you their blessing. If they really didn't like you, they'd be fighting Liv to keep her home. They're not shy people, they'll tell you how they feel."

"So when am I supposed to be doing all of this? We've got a shop to run, and Liv only works every other week. I can't exactly go to the Village when she's there, even if she didn't see me herself, someone's bound to tell her and she'll be suspicious. And if I try to leave and go somewhere when she's here, she'll really be suspicious. That only leaves when she's working, and that only gives me a window of a few hours a day every other week, and I can't just leave you here to manage everything on your own."

"You can to, don't worry about me."

"What if I can't find a good ring? Liv's not exactly a big jewelry wearer."

"You worry an awful lot, George."

"It's a valid concern, Fred."

"Fine, fine. Well, if that's the case, then we'll close the shop for a few hours so I can go with you to help look for one. Maybe we can recruit Angelina and Alicia to help, they'll know what she likes. On second thought, maybe just Lina. Alicia won't be able to keep it a secret."

"What if she says no?"

"Okay, now you're just being a prat. Of course she's going to say yes, I thought that was obvious. Didn't you see how happy she was when Mum gave her that sweater?"

George smiled, the most recent Christmas still a very vivid memory of his. "Yeah, I did. That's what put the idea in my head, you know."

"I did know, actually. That's what put the idea in everyone's head."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone's been waiting for this, George. Ever since Bill and Fleur announced their engagement. Oh, Mum's going to freak out. But in a good way this time. Now, come on, we've got a shop to open."

As the week went by, the twins brainstormed the best possible way to go about visiting Olivia's brother, grandfather, and mother and then buy her a suitable ring without her finding out what was going on. In the end, they decided that they would just have to keep Olivia distracted at the shop while George went about it all. He would just have to be quick about it.

As Fred had reassured him they would, Oliver, David, and Catrina all gave George their blessing to propose to Olivia. Catrina being Catrina had been very excited and emotional at the thought of her daughter getting married and within the day, everyone residing in the Village (of course not including Olivia) knew of George's plan. As February wore on and it seemed it would be any day now, Fred found himself having to muster every ounce of self-control he had not to spill the beans to his friends and family. But he managed to do so for George, who wanted it to be a surprise.

[word count: 800]

[written: 9/21/20]
[published: 9/21/20]
guys its happening