Wand Wood

One

A long sigh leaves my lips as I lean against the counter inside the family wand shop, bored out of my mind as I prop my head up with my arm. The shop is completely empty, not a customer in sight, just as it's been since my uncle left when he finished training me and officially retired.

No one seemed to mind when he was helping me make wands and run the shop but now that it's just me it's is always empty in here and I'm left with nothing to do but make more wands and because the wands that are already stocked aren't exactly flying off the shelves, there's nowhere for them to go.

The flat above the shop, where I've moved all my belongings to and have been spending most of my time now that I've moved out of my apartment, is now stacked full of so many wand boxes it's hard to move around. I desperately need to start making some sales.

The small bell above the door rings and pulls me from my thoughts as a tall grinning redhead walks through the door.

"Back again, George?" I sigh. The mischievous and apparently bored man had been visiting me in the shop every couple of days since my uncle  left me to run it alone. "I hope you intend to buy a wand this time."

"You're ridiculously overstocked, you know that?" George hums, ignoring my comment.

He never buys anything when he comes in, just pesters me, or as he calls it, 'keeps me company' while he wanders around for a few minutes. The stubborn Gryffindor has been just the same way ever since I'd known him at Hogwarts, always appearing out of nowhere to annoy me while walking me to the Slytherin common room before returning to his own.

"Yes. Oddly enough, I'm aware." I roll my eyes. "Are you going to buy something or not."

"Nah, I dont need another wand. Just wanted to say hello." He shrugs.

"I suppose your business is doing well?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Of course, 'Deira." George smiles. "I expect Ollivander's will be soon as well."

"What makes you think so, Weasley?" I ask doubtfully, already having accepted that living in this empty and unsuccessful shop will be my fate for the rest of my life. My family may end up disowning me even though I've agreed to take over the family business.

"Have you seen the new banner in the window of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" The proud grin on his face makes me uneasy. Did he put something awful about my newly inherited shop in the window of his own? I am really not in the mood to be on the receiving end of one of his infamous pranks. He and his twin often took to targetting me in school.

"No," I start, squinting at the redhead, "what did you do?"

"Look for yourself." He gestures to the window.

I walk over to the window and look over at the tall purple building across and down the street a bit. In one of the windows is a large orange banner that, in rather large print, reads 'Buy one wand from Ollivander's, get a free gift basket with a patented daydream charm, pair of extendable ears, and three random skiving snackboxes inside with proof of purchase'.

This is not what I expected of him at all when he'd seemed so proud of himself. I turn to George with my mouth open in shock, brought nearly to tears at his surprising kindness and preparing to either tackle him with a hug or ask what in Merlin's name he was thinking doing something like that, loosing money on the products he'd give away in order to boost my sales, when a group of teens enters the shop, bags of gold in hand.

"Hello, we'd all like a wand, please." The girl in the middle says.

I hurry to get back behind the counter, still staring at George incredulously as he flashes me a crooked grin and tips an invisible hat in my direction before pushing past another group entering the shop in order to get out of the door.