| Inked | (George Weasley)

Chapter Seventy-Three

Next Saturday couldn't come soon enough.

After their kiss late into the night, and Olive's successful meeting with Flitwick the next morning, the Ravenclaw felt like she was walking on sunshine for the next week. Nothing seemed to be able to shake her good mood.

Which was honestly a rare thing.

However, Saturday morning, the sixth year sat on her bed staring at two different sweaters in her bathrobe, her brows furrowed. She was half dressed, her hair still damp from a shower, only one shoe one.

She looked tired, like she had barely slept the mid to before, and her face was a shade lighter than her normal fair complexion. The contents of her stomach were churning with an anxiety she couldn't quite put her finger on.

She had been looking forward to her date with George for just over a week. When they passed in the corridor they'd smile and blush, or joke around about something only the two of them seemed to understand. It felt fluttery... but easy. Natural.

Olive wasn't dreading going to Hogsmeade with George, in fact she couldn't wait for it, but something in her gut was making her almost afraid of going. She didn't want to mess anything up, and was honestly afraid that the date was going to go horribly wrong.

She was almost relieved when Nat came in.

"I thought you had a very special day today?" The blonde took Olive's words from her mouth, something the fellow Ravenclaw had said at the beginning of the week when she finally told her friends about her and George's date.

"I do." Olive sighed, blowing a damp curl away from her face, "I'm just..."

She got up, pacing the small space between her and Nat's bed, her hands fiddling with her necklace.

"When you first started dating Marjorie... did you dread it?" Olive winced at how that was phrased, "Not dread... but you were just... inexplicably anxious about it and almost didn't want to go?"

"Oh, Ollie." Natalie sat down at the foot of Olive's bed, pulling on the sleeve of her bathrobe to get her to sit back down, "Did something happen? I'll fight that Weasley. I'll fight all of them-"

"No." Olive shook her head, "Nothing's happened, though it does reassure me a bit to know you'd do that for me, but I'm just afraid of something going wrong... or if it's not what I expect-"

"Olive Marbella Lark." Natalie took Olive's hands, "Look at me."

"Nat-" she looked sheepishly down at her lap.

"You're not looking."

"Sorry." She fixed her gaze up at the blonde, "What?"

"Everyone is nervous on their first date." Natalie told her, "With Marjorie... I'm not going to lie I was a wreck beforehand, especially since it was my first date with a girl. But when it's right, and you like the person, then those nerves go away."

Olive looked down almost hopelessly at the sweaters draped over her bed, "They do?"

"Yes." The blonde picked up a blue sweater and put it in Ollie's hands, "Go with this one, it makes your eyes pop. And about the date... Mar and I will be at Hogsmeade, if you need an emergency evacuation, I'm sure my best friend-senses will alert me and I'll rescue you."

The nerves that Olive was feeling before were still there, but she didn't feel as panicked as she did two minutes ago. She nodded, soaking in the words her best friend had said to reassure her.

"Thank you, Nat." She leaned over and gave her a hug.

"Just doing my job." The blonde joked as they pulled away. She got to her feet, heading over to her trunk to change into something warmer to wear for the Hogsmeade trip.

There was a pause as Olive threw the sweater over her head, mulling over everything Natalie had just said to her. She turned to her again, a small smirk twitching her lips.

"You'd really fight all the Weasleys?"

"Without question. And I'd win, too." Natalie stuck up her fists and threw a few punches into the air, "Muggle style."

The icy chill of early February made Olive's teeth chatter and her nose sting with cold as she waited outside in the courtyard for George. She had gotten there a few minutes early, the Ravenclaw Tower being closer to the courtyard students normally left for Hogsmeade from.

She wrapped her coat tighter around her, wishing she had opted for a hat to keep her ears warm. Olive burrowed her chin and nose into her Ravenclaw scarf as she took at seat on one of the snow-covered benches.

A lot of couples had passed her, walking arm in arm through the courtyard and down towards the trail that led all the way down to Hogsmeade. It was the weekend before Valentine's Day, which meant that many couples would be going down to the village for their dates.

The idea to go on their first date now seemed a bit weird at first. Olive didn't know what would come out of it, despite the feelings of butterflies in her stomach as the clock ticked closer to eleven; the time she was supposed to meet George in the courtyard. Hopefully it wouldn't be odd considering Valentine's Day just just a few days away, and students were doing most of the celebrating this weekend.

However, as she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her, those thoughts were quickly shoved to the back of her head.

"And here I thought I would be the one to show up early."

The Ravenclaw turned around to find George walking towards her, throwing a hat over his head to help combat the cold. Snow fell in fat flakes around them, covering the entire castle grounds in dazzling white.

"Great minds think alike, I guess." Olive stood up, brushing the snow from her trousers, "I didn't think it'd be this cold today."

The ginger shrugged, "Me neither. I was hoping for something a little warmer. I have a surprise planned."

Olive quirked a brow, "A surprise?"

George shrugged, slipping one hand out of his pocket to offer it to her, "Shall we, Olls?"

She took it, linking arms with him, her stomach doing flip-flops at how close they were.

"What are you planning?" She looked up at him, determined to figure out the said surprise that George briefly mentioned. Surprises were not exactly her thing, because she wanted to figure out what they were.

He assumed one of his sneaky smirks, bringing memories of sneaking around the halls together into Ollie's mind. Giving her arm a squeeze, he nodded to the path ahead of them.

"Why don't we get a butterbeer first and then I'll give you a hint?"

"Or," she batted her eyelashes innocently, "You can tell me now on our lovely walk down to Hogsmeade."

The ginger waited a moment, his gaze studying the snowy path, where ahead of them dozens of students were heading down to Hogsmeade for the day. He let the silence hand in the air for dramatic effect, knowing that the Ravenclaw next to him was burning with curiosity.

"Well," he said, "That would ruin the surprise, and I can't let that happen, can I?"

Olive scrunched her nose, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He shrugged, "Enjoying what?"

"You know I hate surprises."

"Well, Olls, hate is a strong word." He unhooked his arm from hers and wrapped it around her shoulders as they walked, his eyes watching her reaction to the change in touch from the corner of his eyes.

Olive felt a warmth spread from his touch and slowly envelop her whole body. She leaned into him softly, but still maintained her look of faked annoyance.

"You know what." She tried to match his mischievous smirk, "I think I have a surprise for you too, George."

He laughed, "And what exactly is that?"

"A sticking charm and a rather large snowball."