Kissing 101

“I bet you that I can kiss a girl before you can!”

“And what if I can kiss a girl before you?”

“Okay, so the loser will have do drink an Acid Pop and eat six Cockroach Clusters.”

“Alright, you’re on.”

They shook hands, and left their dorm for breakfast.

-

It had been three months, and the bet was still on. Three months of going to class, learning magic, and making mischief. Life in second year was getting to be rather interesting, George had to admit that. Coming to school with a fairly tight-knit group of friends sure beat last year when the only people he and Fred knew were their older brothers. There was himself and Fred of course, then a boy with dreadlocks and a slight obsession with spiders Lee Jordan, a spazzy, purple-haired girl named Ophilia McLaggen, and then a really, quiet shy girl with dark red hair called Jennifer Potter. No one was really sure about Jennifer, even Ophilia, who could have been considered to know the most about her. When he had first met Jennifer, the first thing she said was she was friends with the Malfoy twins, Sarlanda and Lance, and she wanted to be in Slytherin with them. And she’s Jennifer Potter, Harry Potter’s sister! If there was anyone who should want to be in Gryffindor, it was her.

So this was who was standing in front of George just after dinner as he came in through the portrait hole. Her hazel eyes were partially covered by her red bangs, and she avoided eye contact, like always.

“Erm, hey George? Can—can I talk to you about something? Erm… away from here?” she asked, hesitant and small-voiced.

The opportunity was golden.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, and followed her back out into the corridor. They walked side-by-side down to an empty classroom. “Bertie Bott?” he asked, offering her his bag of jellybeans as they walked in.

She sniffed the bag slightly and shook her head. “No thanks.” The girl learned fast, but George thought that the Acid Pop Fred had fed her last year was probably the reason she had learned not to trust them so fast.

“So, what’s going on?” George asked, sliding across an empty desk.

Jennifer stood there and looked at the floor. “So erm, you know about L-Lance and I right?”

George frowned. “That you’re seeing each other, right?”

She bit her lip and nodded. It was a minute or so before she spoke again. “George, have you… have you ever kissed someone?”

Now the smooth-talker inside took over him. “’Course Jen, I’ve kissed a couple girls, why?”

“Erm, what’s it like?” she asked, tracing around in the slight dust on the floor with the toe of her shoe.

“It’s great, you get this fluttery feeling… again, why?”

Her lips were trembling now. What in the world was she so freaked out about? “Well, I—I think Lance expects me t-to kiss him, and I—I’ve…”

“Never done it?” George supplied.

She merely nodded.

“And so… what? Come on, just spit it out, Fred and I were going to prank Issac tonight.”

“Well, I was wondering—oh, it’s dumb…”

“What?”

“I was wondering if you could tell me what to do because I have no idea and I don’t want to make an idiot of myself,” she said quickly, closing her eyes tightly.

Score.

“Alright, sure,” George said casually, sliding off the desk and walked over to her. He stood in front of her, rather close. It was awkward, being that near to her. Sure, Jen was pretty, but she was a friend. Just a friend.

“So, well, first you should look at me,” he said, tilting her face up towards him. “And then, uh, we sort of…”

George’s voice trailed away as he put one of his hands on the back of her neck and put one of her hands on his shoulder. Then without saying anything, he leaned down and kissed her.

It was just a single moment of fluttery feelings, and then it ended. Jennifer pulled away and took a tiny step back, trying to catch her breath.

“So, that’s what it’s like… th-thanks George,” she said before she walked a bit fast out of the room, cheeks burning.

-

“HA!”

George strode proudly up to his twin in their dorm.

Fred gave him an odd look. “Ha what?”

“I kissed a girl before you, so you have to pay up.”

“What? No way, who?”

“Jennifer. Just now.”

Fred stood up and started down to the common room. George followed, smirking. Fred stalked up to Jennifer, who was just starting up the staircase to the girls dorm, and stopped her.

“Did you or did you not kiss George just now?” he asked in a mercifully hushed voice.

Her face went as red as her hair and she shot George a glare. “Yes, I did,” she replied, and then freed herself and stalked up to her dorm. Ophilia followed her excitedly.

Fred turned around to face George, who still had a wicked grin on his face.

“Acid Pop time, mate.”