Yellow (George Weasley)

79 - Fruit

I slid the last display back into it's rightful place on the counter before taking a step back to admire my work. It's the little things that keep me happy and a perfectly organized store is one of them.

"Pygmy Puff's cages have been cleaned." Our newest worker, Verity, saluted me with a smile as she walked past. Her brown curly hair flounced with each cheery step she took.

Fred and George were right about needing an extra helper during the week—though I hate to admit it. If things keep picking up I can see needing another, but certainly not a replacement for me. This way when things are busy, I can focus on overseeing some of the bigger picture aspects of the shop. The last month alone the shop has been booming, now that Diagon Alley is a safe space once again. We've had more business than ever. If we end up getting someone else like Verity, I'd be more than fine with that.

"Do you need to take a break and sit down for a bit?" She smiled as she returned from the back room, more boxes of love potion in her arms. She quickly arranged them on the display before turning to face me. "I can take over the till."

"Sure." I shrugged, moving past her. I guess I could sit for a minute and work on some inventory. The office was thankfully free of distractions. I grabbed the ring binder from the shelf before plopping down at the desk. My vision spun slightly from the quick movement. A new symptom I've been experiencing lately is dizziness. The healer assured me it was completely normal but it's rather inconvenient.

"Here, darling." George appeared behind me in an instant with a small bowl of strawberries and a container of ice water. The sleeves of his button up were pushed up to his elbows, his tie undone slightly. It was getting warmer as we welcomed summer and we could certainly feel it in the crowded shop.

George has been particularly attentive throughout the pregnancy. Sometimes he gets a bit excessive about it, but mostly he's sweet.

"Thank you." I smiled up at him, flipping the page of the inventory to today's date. "You're getting really good at popping up with a snack before I even know I need one."

"Well the healer said dizziness could be related to low blood sugar, so a little snack every couple of hours might help." He shrugged. "Gotta give our little passion fruit what it wants." He teasingly poked at my belly as he leaned back against the desk.

"George." I laughed, pausing to take a sip of my water. "I'm going to take that book away from you if you keep comparing our baby to fruit."

"It's just fascinating!" He defended. "I like comparisons that I can comprehend and I understand food related ones pretty easily."

I bit into one of the berries, setting a hand on my slightly protruding belly. I haven't quite gotten to the point where strangers can differentiate between pregnant and fat, but it is getting there.

"George, I need help with a demonstration by the Nosebleed Nougat. I'm sure Leah would just love to hear all about your passion fruit in a couple of hours when we close." Fred rolled his eyes with a smirk as he pulled his brother from the room.

The distractions were finally gone so I could get some of this work done. Though I hate to admit it, George was right about the snack helping my dizziness. He's really been sticking to a lot of those pregnancy books. It's the most I've seen him read in years. He would occasionally borrow one of my books after me when we were in school, but I think that was just so I would let him sit outside with me while I read.

I went through all of the inventory for today and thankfully it's been pretty on track the past week since Verity started. Fred and George are nightmares when it comes to keeping track of these types of things. I placed a couple of the orders we needed before heading back out to the till.