Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

64. Those Bloody Dragons

September 2000

Eloise thought that, once the new Hogwarts term commenced at the beginning of the month, George would have more free time. The shop wouldn't be filled with rambunctious children, instead there would be casual window shoppers and the occasional mischievous adult that had a similar sense of humor to the owner's.

But, as the sales floor at the shop became a tranquil haven, George's office instead was the new hub of chaos within the purple walls of the building. It seemed like every night since the beginning of September, he was holed up in there, working on his newest invention, trying his hardest to get it perfected before the end of the year.

While Eloise didn't mind, she wasn't always pleased with the late nights he would spend in there, sometimes working until two or three in the morning. At first, she offered to bring him takeaway for dinner or even a cup of tea to help him stay awake but he always refused. He'd always tell her that he wasn't hungry and if he took a tea break, he would lose his train of thought. Regardless, she kept up her gentle reminders for him to eat something and get some sleep. But for the most part, she didn't see much of George that month.

As the Sunday before Hermione's twenty-first birthday rolled around, Eloise knew that the two of them couldn't put off buying her present much longer. The only problem was, now that George had finally agreed to take a day off, it unfortunately overlapped with the only afternoon Eloise had available to catch up with an old friend that she hadn't seen in quite some time.

"When did you want to go shopping for Hermione?" George asked casually that morning as he fixed tea for everyone in the flat.

Eloise sat at the kitchen table silently as she glanced up from that morning's edition of The Daily Prophet. Charlie, who was sitting right beside her, let out a brief chuckle at her hesitation which caused George to furrow his brows.

"Am I missing something?" he asked after pulling four mugs from the cabinet.

"Haven't told him yet?" Charlie asked her with a smirk.

"I was going to. It just never came up." she replied in a hushed tone.

George's arms were crossed over his chest as he waited for the two to finish acting as though he was no longer in the room. At that moment, Verity stepped out of Charlie's bedroom, tying her hair up in a ponytail as she scanned over the scene in the kitchen. When her eyes landed on George, she came to a stop at the end of the hall.

"What's got your knickers in a twist this morning?"

"Why don't you ask them?" he gestured vaguely towards the table where Charlie and Eloise were having their own discussion.

Both of them looked over at George and Verity before glancing back at each other. Without them having to say a single word, Verity caught on immediately.

"You haven't told him yet?" she asked Eloise in amused disbelief.

"Does everyone know what the bloody hell is going on except for me?" George bellowed as he threw his arms up.

The kettle on the stove whistled, matching George's volume and before anyone could respond, he huffed and turned around to remove the boiling water from the heat. The man was not a fan of surprises, clearly. Not when he was the focus of it, at least. If he was the one surprising someone else, he would be all for it, he just hated being out of the loop.

Verity let out a snicker, "Seems that way."

"It's really not that big of a deal." Charlie tried to reassure his brother.