So this had been sat in my documents for quite a long time, and was a one-shot I originally wrote as a request on Quizilla. I thought I might as well post it on here though :) Go easy on me for it though, it's pretty old! Thanks :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Finally
"Excuse me, miss? Where are the Skiving Snackboxes?" A middle-aged woman asked as I placed another set of WonderWitch products on the shelves. I smiled, turning to face her.
"We've actually run out ma'am, but I can go ask Mr Weasley to order more," I said, and her face fell in a way that was quite humorous. She shuffled along, and her attention was quickly taken by the Extendable Ears. I grinned, and opened the door to the staffroom, finding George Weasley sat with his foot resting on his knee in that way men tended to do. He was twirling his wand in his fingers, a look of concentration on his face that was only brought on by ideas for another new product for his and his brother's joke shop. His hair, as red as ever, had grown since he'd left Hogwarts, and now hung in his brown eyes a little.
Just the sight of him made my heart flutter.
He raised his head upon my enterance, and smiled widely.
"Ah, Bree, just the girl I was looking for! Tell me, does this," he pointed at what appeared to be a pile of metal that had been glued together to form a rather odd shape, "look anything like something that could end up on our shelves?" I raised my eyebrows and stepped closer to the table to get a closer look.
"Do you want the truth or a lie?"
"Truth, please."
"It looks like something Severus Snape ate and then puked up again," I said with distaste, but George grinned broadly.
"Perfect! Thank you Miss Hadley, you are doing your job wonderfully," he announced in a sing-song voice, and I giggled as he brought the object closer to him, tapping it with his wand and mumbling under his breath.
Exiting the staffroom and leaving George to whatever it was he was creating, I sat behind the counter and began serving those who had been waiting, my mind still in the little room with my favourite Weasley twin.
Fred, George and I had been friends since we'd started at Hogwarts, and I'd left school with them when they'd finally had enough of Professor Umbridge. I'd known they'd planned to open a joke shop, but I'd had no idea how soon they'd go about it, or where they got the money from, but I didn't care - they offered me a job at the shop as soon as it was open for business, and I readily accepted it. Fred was currently at home with the day off, spending time with Angelina Johnson, his girlfriend of three months, and I was happy for them - Ang and I were pretty good friends, and she'd liked Fred for a while before they got together. I sighed heavily, recalling that day she'd told me it was only a matter of time before George finally asked me out. I was still waiting for that moment.
"Hey, Bree! How's your summer been so far?" A lanky boy with blazingly red hair asked, a girl with similar features, but smaller, standing behind him. I grinned.
"Very well, my dear Ronald, and yours?" He smiled, and dumped a load of items on the counter before me.
"Good, thanks. How about a discount, Bree? Since you love me so much," he added cheekily, and I rolled my eyes, pressing the button to open the till and holding my hand out for the cash.
"Not a chance, Weasley." He pouted, but took out the gold and silver coins he owed me.
"Nicely done Bree - never back done," George said, swaggering into the main shop and winking at me. I blushed, but hid it well through a curtain of my light brown hair.
"Think it deserves a raise?" I asked, handing Ron his change and popping the till shut again as Ron left with Ginny following him. George laughed loudly, drawing attention to us.
"Bold, Bree, very bold... Perhaps we can sort something out," he grinned, tapping his chin with his index finger and pretending to think. "What d'you need the money for anyway?" He asked, sitting on the stool beside me. I could feel the heat rush up my face, burning my cheeks as it went. George raised his brows, taking note of the pink flush tinting my cheeks.
"I need to pay now I've left school to get my N.E.W.T.s..." I mumbled. George's mouth rounded into a little 'O', and he frowned.
"But you're doing great with us, why would you need an education?" I rolled my eyes and turned to face him.
"Because I'm not good at all this inventing like you two, and I can't just work here for the rest of my life!" George's expression appeared surprised, a crease appearing across his forehead.
"Why not?" He asked cluelessly. I glared at him, and he shrank back a little.
"Because working in a joke shop is not a great way of getting enough money to live on, to get a house, to raise kids, to-to-" I struggled to look for the words I wanted to use.
"Then why did you leave school with us? You could have just stayed there with Umbridge and done your N.E.W.T.s for free, something we obviously took away from you," he snapped, his temper rising. I jumped at this new tone he was using - bitter, serious and hard. He'd never spoke to me like that before, and it bothered me. Why was he this upset about me wanting to leave? "We'll talk about this later..." George sighed, standing up and leaving me in shock as the same woman that had asked me for the Skiving Snackboxes approached me to pay.
That evening, when I was grabbing my coat after having finished the day and tidying up the store, George found me and touched my shoulder, making me jump and wheel round to face him.
"Oh," I mumbled. He smiled weakly, but it didn't touch his eyes. Inhaling deeply, I asked the question that had been bugging me since we'd fought earlier. "Why are you so mad at me?" He scratched the scar Umbridge had left him on the back of his hand from all those detentions, a habit of his.
"Because, besides Fred, you're my best friend. I like having you here too much, and you've just been with us through everything... I don't like the thought of you leaving..." He said it softly, but very clearly. My breath caught in my throat as his brown eyes met mine. "Bree, you mean too much to me." I could feel his breath across my face now, he was so close. "And I never want to loose you," he continued as he rested his forehead against mine.
"Me neither," I forced out, struggling not to gasp for breath. He was so, so close to me, just another inch, barely that, and our lips would meet-
He drew away, a small smile playing on the edge of his lips, those that had been so near to mine. He grabbed my hand, intwining his fingers with mine.
"How about a date? Then we can really discuss that raise," he grinned, almost in a cocky way, winking at me for the second time that day, but this time I did not blush. Instead, I stood on tiptoes and gave a soft kiss to the very edge of his lips, and pulled away.
"That's fine by me," I said sweetly, walking out of the shop with a new bounce in my step as he tried to catch up with me.
Hope it was fairly okay?
Meg x