Tidal Wave [george weasley post war]

14. Birthday Boy

Just as he planned, George got Aurora home safely before traveling back to the Leaky Cauldron. He had spent a total of, maybe, an hour there before going home with a tall, blonde witch. She didn't look familiar to him, and he wasn't sure if she had known him during their time at Hogwarts or not, but at this point he came to the bar looking for one thing, and one thing only. No pleasantries mattered at this point. He obviously was not going to stay the night at her place, making sure to quickly pull his clothes back on after they finished having sex, and apparating home. The hole in his chest was still there. No matter how many times he tried to patch it back together with drunken nights full of lust, it would always be right there. It would constantly remind him that his better half, his best friend, Fred, was gone. He was never coming back, and he would always feel guilty about laughing with anyone else.

The days and night to follow passed painfully slow. George found himself at the bar each night. A different woman each night. His beard was starting to grow back in, but this time around he tried his best to do what he could to maintain it. As crazy as it was, having the beard helped him be able to look in the mirror and not see his brother. At least that's what he told himself. He was getting better at spending time in the shop with Verity, keeping his cool composure and working successful along side her. He had even spent one night at dinner with Lee.

The night before his birthday was the worst. He hadn't left the flat and was already down half a bottle of fire whiskey. Currently, he was sprawled out on the couch, his long legs taking up most of the cushion space. His hand grasped tightly to the bottle, letting it sit on the floor when he wasn't taking swigs of the amber liquid. His eyes fluttered shut, a certain brunette gliding her way into his mind. He could have sworn he could even hear her voice. After taking another sip, he sat up and rubbed his face with his hands. He had never had this problem before. Becoming so seriously infatuated with someone who didn't reciprocate the feelings. Bloody hell, she probably looks at me like a brother.

"George!"

Perking up at the sound of his name, George shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Wait, that was not in his mind. He wasn't imagining that... "Rory?" He called, pushing himself up and moving to the door of his flat that opened to the hallway and staircase which ultimately led to the back of his joke shop. Upon opening his door, he was blindsided by the small blue-eyed woman who pushed her way into the doorway. "Bloody hell, I've been calling your name for like five minutes!" She groaned, sounding completely knackered as she juggled a few things in her hands.

"Why didn't you knock?" George asked, scratching the back of his head as he closed the door.

"Boy genius...my hands are full." She told him, rolling her eyes as she set a few things down on the kitchen table. "But anyway... I was just at dinner with Ginny and Fleur. And it was boring because all they talked about was marriage, babies, and love." She faked a gag, sticking her tongue out as she moved to pull open the bags, taking out some dessert, fire whiskey, and wine. "So, I thought, what better way to detox my system of all that shit is to spend the night stuffing my face with dessert and alcohol with my cool new friend, Georgie Weasley!" She giggled, glancing up at him as he walked into the kitchen, taking a sip of the fire whiskey again.

"Also, tomorrow is your birthday. And I know you don't want to celebrate it... but let me at least provide you with some entertain for the night, yeah?" She paused for a moment, walking over to him, and grabbing his chin. She turned his head from side to side, leaning closer as if inspecting his face – which is exactly what she was doing. "Why are you growing out the beard again?" She questioned, letting go of his chin as she took a step back, eyeing him up and down.

"What? What's wrong? Don't you like it?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear as he took another sip of the fire whiskey.

"Eh... Well, ok, I'm not going to lie. You look devilishly handsome with the beard." Aurora admitted, shrugging her shoulders before turning back to the table to pick up a brownie and already start stuffing her face with it. She went to the cabinet over the sink, picking up a wine glass so she could use it for the rest of the night. "Well what do you want to do birthday boy?" She asked, pouring wine into the glass until it was almost overflowing.