Let Me In

George's POV

George stood alone in his empty shop. The shelves desperately needed dusting and restocking. It was dark and had an old sort of smell lingering around. He had spotted a few people stop outside, looking for signs that the shop was open, and he desperately wanted to open the door and let them in, but he just couldn't. This shop was a dream he and Fred had built together; how could he continue it without him? At that moment as he sat behind the counter, he heard the bell of the shop door ring. He was happy to see Angelina strutting towards him.

"Hey", he smiled.

"Get off your arse. We've got work to do", she smirked.

"What?", he replied, dumbfounded.

"You're opening the shop today", she told him.

"No", he said.

"Yes", she fought, widening her eyes at him, her hands on her hips.

"I- I don't know if I can", he admitted. Angelina sighed before taking his hand within her own.

"I know it's hard. But you know as well as I do that Fred would want you to open that door and do what you do best", she smiled softly at him. Her words had sparked a confidence in him he never knew he had as he nodded in agreement. She was right. Fred wouldn't want this. The pair of them began to cast a few charms to tidy up the place a little bit before George found himself standing in front of the shop door, finding the courage to turn the open/close sign and open the door. He looked back to Angelina for encouragement. She nodded, smiling brightly before he took a deep breath, turned the sign and unlocked the door.

…

It was a steady day for business, but George felt better for it. Only a few people had mentioned Fred and offered their condolences and he found himself, strangely, not minding. It was getting late as he and Angelina finished cleaning up the shop after George's first day of business on his own.

"I better get going soon. My mum will be wondering where I am", Angelina told him.

"Stay", George said simply.

"What?", she said.

"You can stay if you want. It is getting late, I wouldn't want you apparating on your own at this time of night", he told her. Angelina smiled warmly at him.

"Only if you're sure?", she asked. George nodded as he smiled brightly. "Okay. I'll floo my mum", she smiled before running upstairs to George's flat. He smiled after her as she went and he suddenly felt something. A fluttering sensation in his stomach and the palm of his hands began to feel clammy and sweaty. He liked her. He liked her more than just his friend and more than just his Quidditch teammate. He was falling for her. And for a fleeting second, guilt crossed his mind as he thought about Fred. But then he reached for a letter in his pocket. The letter he always had in his pocket these days. He opened it and read over the last paragraph;

'I couldn't think of anyone better for her.'

He read Fred's words, letting the guilt leave him as he took a deep breath.

"Am I mad? She might not even feel the same", he whispered to himself, furrowing his brow as he put the letter back in his pocket. He made sure the shop door was locked and turned out the lights before making his way upstairs. Angelina had already made herself comfortable on the sofa, sitting cross legged as she smiled at him.

"I just realised; I don't have any pyjamas with me. Do you have an old t-shirt I could wear?", she asked. George couldn't help but blush at the comment as he thought back to a conversation he and Fred had once had with Bill.

"Let me tell you something, guys;", Bill smiled cheekily, Fred and George looking intrigued. "Seeing Fleur in one of my old t-shirts? Is probably the sexiest thing I have ever seen in my life!". Fred and George began to laugh hysterically at Bill's admission. "What?", he asked, half laughing.

"Why are you telling us this?", George fought through his laughter to speak.

"You two are gonna meet someone someday. You need to remember; its all about the simple things. The simple pleasures. Most blokes think of a girl in an oversized t-shirt and they don't even bat an eyelid but- wow. I'd rather see Fleur like that than in a skimpy bikini any day!", he told them.

"Hello?", Angelina spoke, snapping George out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah. Hold on; I'll get one for you", he told her, before disappearing to find a t-shirt for her to wear. He had found an old green one and handed it to her before she disappeared into the bathroom. She returned only minutes later and George couldn't help but stare. He felt like he finally understood what Bill was talking about. The t-shirt didn't cling to her body at all, her legs long and slim and her toenails painted a dark burgundy colour. She had tied her hair up into a messy bun and she had wiped off all of her makeup. George thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Are you okay?", she suddenly asked as he continued to stare at her in silence. George cleared his throat as he averted his eyes quickly.

"Yeah- yeah, I'm alright", he said quickly. Angelina chuckled before sitting beside him. The pair sat in silence for a moment before something had caught Angelina's eye as she got up and retrieved a large, tatty looking book.

"What's this?", she asked, sitting back down with the book.

"It's- it's a photo album my mum made", he told her. "I haven't even looked through it yet".

"Do you mind if I-?", she gestured to open it.

"Go ahead", he smiled warmly. George and Angelina began flicking through the album. There were moving pictures of he and all of his siblings as babies. One picture Angelina had particularly taken a liking to was a picture of a young Fred and George meeting their baby brother Ron for the very first time. The one year old twins sat side by side, their mother sat on her knees behind them, supporting tiny Ron's body and head as they watched him wriggle about.

"Look how cute you all were!", she almost squealed. "What happened?", she joked.

"I got beautiful, that's what happened! I don't know what happened to Ron though", he joked right back. The pair of them howled with laughter as they continued to look through the photos.

"Aw look", Angelina pointed at another moving picture. This one was of a three year old Fred and George, Fred forcing a hug on a hysterical two year old Ron whilst George cuddled his baby sister Ginny who sat on his lap.

"I remember this! Mum said Ron was crying because Ginny was getting all the attention so Fred tried to make him feel better", George chuckled fondly.

"Look at you with Ginny. It's almost hard to believe that's you", she told him as George took a closer look at the picture. George had his arms wrapped tightly around Ginny, repeatedly kissing the top her head as she giggled.

"Growing up with 5 brothers- it was a little bit of a relief to have a little sister to look out for and cuddle", he smiled warmly. George stopped looking at the moving picture as he realised all had gone quiet. He looked up to find Angelina staring at him, a soft smile on her face. George looked deep into her eyes, not even realising that he was slowly leaning into her until the moment her lips softly collided with his own. He closed his eyes slowly, his hand moving up to her hair as she cupped his jaw in the palm of her hand. The kiss was nothing spectacular, but George felt like fireworks were going off in his head. The pair slowly parted, Angelina blushing slightly as George cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me", he said.

"No. It's okay. I- I wanted to", she admitted. "Is that wrong?", she suddenly asked. George took a moment before shaking his head.

"No. It's not wrong. Fred wanted me to look after you. And that's exactly what I intend to do. If you'll let me?", he asked. Angelina sighed softly.

"On one condition", she said. George raised his eyebrow. "Only if I can look after you too".

"Deal" he smiled. The two sealed the deal with a tender kiss.