The War left many grieving, those who would never get the chance to tell their loved ones that they loved them one last time. Iris Brown was one of them, her twin sister ripped away from her at just 18, she never got the chance to do the things with...
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"What are your plans for Christmas?" George's voice was much louder than usual as he was sat at the bar of the Leaky Cauldron bothering Iris as she worked.
"George, I'm working you know I finish at 3am can we not have this chat tomorrow at some point." Iris responded as she attempted to draw up a half decent pint of beer from the tap. Her mind very much distracted by the man who was sat on the bar constantly vying for her attention. And he was winning it more often than not. It wouldn't have been a bad thing was the pub not that busy. But it was game night and the whole of the east end had turned up to watch the quidditch from the Leaky Cauldron, well it felt like that anyways.
"Take a break, talk to me." George was trying to charm Iris over and on any other quieter day he would have been very successful at doing so. But the number of people standing waiting on a drink prevented Iris doing anything down those lines. Despite her desperately wanting to do so.
But George was either persistent or really did not have anything to do that evening, which was hard to believe Iris had seen what he had to do to keep the joke shop running and running at the rate it was. George worked incredibly hard to run the joke shop, from finances to coming up with new products he often stretched himself to the limit and she was surprised that in the last year he had not burnt himself out. But Iris knew he would do anything to keep that shop. Therefore, when he had an evening off, if he so chose to spend it with her even if it was just sat in the pub bothering her until the end of Iris' shift then she was going to let him. It was, in her own very much smitten opinion, that she was lucky he even wanted to spend his rare free time around her. For George patiently waited for the pub to quieten down after the match was over, tuning his attention to the game upon realising that the more he distracted Iris the less likely he was going to get her over.
He chose not to bring the topic up of Iris' Christmas plans whilst there were other people in the pub. Instead he took the opportunity that presented itself whenever Iris came to check on him, and offer him many a free drinks if he desired them, to give her a compliment. And Iris caught on that he might just have been trying to butter her up. For what she was not sure, but he was trying to get her to agree to something, that much she knew of for certain.
Rather he waited until the end of Iris' shift, yes Iris could not believe that he sat in the pub until 3am waiting for her. And Iris was charmed, it meant that whatever he so desperately wanted to speak to her about could not wait any longer. George just had to ask her now, get it off his chest. She just hoped it was positive, he gave her no reason to not think this way, but the negative part of her was trying to scream that it was going to hurt.
"What are your plans for Christmas?" George asked once again as he walked into Iris' room in the Leaky Cauldron the man making himself comfortable on the sofa in her room.
"I'm working here Christmas Day but other than that I have no plans." Iris finally responded to his question, wondering where he was going with it.
"You're not heading back to Nottingham?" George seemed equal parts confused as he was happy with her answer.
"Last time I talked to my mother she didn't want me home. So I'll just be here I think for the holidays don't want to intrude on anyone."
"That's great, I mean not really but the fact that you don't have plans for all of it works in my favour." George was talking very little sense to Iris at the present moment, but he seemed a little more excited.
"You've lost me Georgie."
"I have a proposal for you. My family is doing a big thing Christmas Eve. Be my date?" George was quick to elaborate and Iris didn't know what to say at first. But she was quick to recover and answer him, she was not going to miss out on this opportunity.
"I'd love to. You'll come and pick me up?"
"I won't let you meet my mother on your own, that's not fair." There was an obvious undertone of amusement as George spoke, he clearly admired his mother that was very much clear. And from what Iris had heard about the Weasley matriarch she did not blame him, Molly seemed like a great woman and Iris could only hope that she was liked by said woman. After all, Iris cared deeply for the woman's son and she was going to spend hopefully the rest of her life by his side.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Thank you of thinking of me." Iris placed her hand on George's arm as she spoke, the pair sitting closely to one another on her sofa.
"I don't think there is anyone else I'd rather have with me. Iris Juniper Brown you have no idea what you're doing to me."
"If it's anything similar to what you're doing to me I think I understand."
When George left that morning, despite Iris' many offers for him to just stay over, Iris felt like she was floating. Like she was on another planet. She was waiting for this moment to be some sort of figment of her imagination. Perhaps she was overreacting, he was just bringing her home for a Christmas thing as a friend. But Iris had convinced herself that her feelings were not one sided. They were a way away from being as close as lovers could get, or whatever was in the romance novels Lavender had loved, but they were starting down the path. Finally they were starting to develop something on their own, without the force of the government. Sure that pressure to be married by October 2000 remained, but Iris felt for herself at least it was not playing any part in what she was doing and feeling. And she could only hope that this was the same for George. She prayed it was the same for George.
