Across The Street || George Weasley

17 - missing you

Y/N's POV

THE next day, I'm flipping through a book without actually retaining any information, when Pansy approaches me.

"Hey y/n."

"Hey, what's up?" I ask, closing the book and looking up at her. 

"Um...I was just wondering if both Luna and I could have Friday afternoon and evening off."

I raise an eyebrow at her. Since I got back from my weekend off, everytime I mention Pansy to Luna or Luna to Pansy, they blush, which makes me guess that something may have happened between the two of them while I was away. "Are the two of you going on a date?" I smirk.

Pansy blushes and smiles shyly, something she never does. Her smiles are always confident. "Yeah. Is that okay? I didn't know if there was a rule against co-workers dating each other."

"No, there's no real against it. I guess we've never really had a need to since my boss is like 50 years older than me. But it's totally fine with me. You can both have the whole day of Friday off as long you can work the weekend."

Pansy nods vigorously. "I can definitely do that. Thank you. Do you have plans for the weekend or Friday after work."

I sigh. "No. Friday night it'll just be me. And I'll be spending the weekend with Oliver for his Quidditch match."

"Ooh, are you dating the famous Keeper for Puddlemere United?" Pansy grins, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I giggle. "No. It's just as a friend thing."

"So you and George..."

I know what she's inadvertently asking. "It's not a thing."

"That's too bad." Pansy comments. "The two of you had serious chemistry. I would know, I saw it firsthand, and that man sure knows how to fuck."

I let out an unwilling sigh. "That he does." I muse.

*****

"CAN I see you in my office, y/n?" Mr. Evergreen calls from upstairs Friday afternoon. We've been having a super slow day so it's safe for me to leave the store unattended to see what he wants. 

I close the office door behind me and take a seat in front of his desk. "What can I do for you sir?"

Mr. Evergreen leans back in his chair, assessing me closely. "I've noticed that you've hired two assistants instead of just the one I requested."

Oh shit. "I'm sorry Mr. Evergreen. Both Luna and Pansy were such good candidates. I couldn't decide and so I took a look at our budget and found a way to hire both while still paying them the same amount we would've paid one assistant." I let out in a rush, figuring it's best to just put all of my thoughts out in the open. 

He holds up a hand to stop me from saying anything else. "I'm not upset, y/n. In fact, I'm actually quite impressed."

"You are?"

"Yes." He nods. "And I'm sure you've noticed that I've been less than helpful with running the store this past month."

"Um...yeah." I say rather meekly, wondering if this is some kind of set-up to test my loyalties.

"It's okay to say it. I know I have but there's a reason for that. I wanted to see how well you took to running the place by yourself, and I would say you've exceeded my expectations. You see, I'm getting quite old and I think it's time for me to retire. I want you to take over as manager."

My jaw drops and it takes me a moment to find my voice. "Are you serious?" I ask, excitement seeping into my tone. 

"Very much. You're very creative and innovative. Not to mention the customers adore you."

"Thank you sir! Thank you so much!" I gush, now unable to contain my joy. I was going to be the manager of Flourish and Blotts.

"You don't need to thank me...you proved yourself all on your own." He smiles. "Now, take the rest of the day, go celebrate. I understand you have the weekend off, but I want you back on Monday to figure out who you want your assistant manager to be and then you'll start as manager as soon as Tuesday. Think you can handle that?"

I nod my head vigorously. "Yes sir. Absolutely!" 

I reach over and shake his hand firmly. 

"Good. Now go enjoy your Friday and celebrate! You're young and successful, have some fun."

*****

ONCE I've gathered all my things, I head out of Flourish and Blotts, waving goodbye to Mr. Evergreen and telling him to have a good weekend from where he's sitting at the front desk. As soon as I'm outside, the reality truly hits me. 

I'm twenty years old, turning twenty-one and I'm going to be the manager of the biggest wizarding bookshop in the entirety of the United Kingdom. Like Mr. Evergreen told me, it definitely warrants celebration. 

But the question remains, who to celebrate with? It would be great to celebrate with Luna and Pansy since they've both become good friends of mine over the past couple weeks, but they have their date today and I don't want to intrude. 

There's my parents but that doesn't appeal to me too much. Their idea of success doesn't involve running a bookshop. 

Maybe Oliver but I'm seeing him tomorrow anyways and I'm sure his couch wouldn't appreciate him going out for drinks the night before a big match.

But I know in my heart that when I got the news, it wasn't Pansy, Luna, Oliver or my parents that I thought about telling. The only person who came to mind about celebrating, the first person I want to tell is the person I've missed like crazy over the past week. George Weasley.

*****

A/N: You've all been giving me so much love on this story and I just wanted to say that I appreciate you all so much 😭.