Lover ; George Weasley

Twenty-nine

Leah had a horrible morning.

She threw a huge tantrum, wouldn't stop crying. She didn't want to let go of me either when it was time to drop her off with my mum.

So I brought her with me to work, knowing that Bill wouldn't mind. He was usually very chill and he had a soft spot for my girls.

After dropping Elsie off at school, I then went to work, getting settled in my office. Leah didn't want to let go of me. She was clinging onto my body, falling asleep against me while I looked through some paperwork.

George joined me like usual, walking into the office with a smile, closing the door behind him.

"Is she asleep?"

I had been on the phone with George this morning which had become a daily routine. We call in the morning, see each other t my office and call in the evening as well.

"Yeah." I replied as George walked over to place the bag on the desk.

"I brought her a smoothie for later." He said. "I know she's already eaten breakfast."

He walked around the desk and placed a hand on the back of my chair, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"Good morning, gorgeous."

"Good morning, handsome." I grinned before he placed another kiss on my lips. "You know, I'm starting to think you've just left your younger brother to run the shop so you can hang out here."

George chuckled, walking back to the bag to unpack the

"Ron's okay with me spending an hour with you every morning." He said. "He's just happy that I've found love again."

My eyes went wide, but George didn't seem to realise his choice of word.

Love?

"Look. I've made us some scrambled eggs with bacon, and some bread too." He said.

It was in a Tupperware box but with the flick of his wand, the box transferred into a plate and the food was automatically reheated.

He did the same with his own box, then moved a chair closer to me so he could sit down.

I stared at him as he handed me a fork, but he frowned when he looked at my face.

"Something wrong?" He asked. "I'm pretty sure you love scrambled eggs and bacon... right? You're not a vegetarian and you're not vegan..."

"Nothing's wrong." I took the fork. "Thank you. Your food is always amazing."

He watched me as I tasted it, smiling at the groan I let out.

"Always amazing." I repeated. I looked at him while he ate some himself.

He said love, didn't he?

"Did she sleep through the night?" He asked, nodding towards Leah, but I shook my head.

"She's had night terrors for a while." I said. "I just never imagined the reason behind them would be..."

I sighed.

I didn't want to say it.

I hated saying it.

"It's scary." I said. "I wake up to her screaming and thrashing around the bed, eyes open but she's not awake. Elsie gets scared too and Leah is just living through a hell that she can't put into words because she's two and her vocabulary isn't that big."

George listened to me as I spoke, without interrupting like usually.

I wasn't used to that with Malcolm, so it was nice that George did listen. He respected me enough to do something as simple as that.

"The psychologist says to not interfere with the night terror." I said. "So I can't wake her while she's lying there. Elsie has to sleep in my bed sometimes."

"Does Leah remember the night terrors?" He asked and straightened up. "They usually don't."

I shook my head.

"No, but she's tired the morning after." I said. "I have to talk to the psychologist about finding a way to break the pattern of the night terrors. I'm taking Leah to see her this week and then I'll have a chat with her."

Leah started moving in my arms, moving her head to rest it against my other shoulder, facing George. I heard her yawn and I pulled my head back to look at her as she brought her hand up to rub her eye.

"Are you done with your nap?" I asked softly, putting down the fork before I brushed my hand over her hair.

Without saying anything, she placed her hands against my collarbone and pushed herself up to sit. I helped her as she crawled off of me, watching her run over to the cupboard where she knew I had some toys saved for when her or Elsie were at my office with me.

"You said you had found love." I said, before I looked at George who slowly moved his eyes from Leah and onto me.

"What?"

"You said that your brother was just happy that you had found love again."

Our eyes met and George slowly put down his fork.

"I don't remember that particular detail." He said. "I said love?"

I nodded.

"Well... maybe that's where I'm at." He leaned forward and rested his forearms against his thighs, folding his hands between his knees. "Maybe I do love you."

I inhaled sharply.

"George—"

"What's so wrong with that?" He asked. "Are we or are we not in a committed relationship?"

"Through two months."

"Exactly." He grinned, reaching over to tap his fingers against my thigh. "And I love you, Dia. You don't have to say it back. I know you're not quite ready for that — which is why I didn't want to say the words yet... I didn't mean to say love, but now you know... that's how I feel."

Fuck.

"I—" I gulped. "...I've introduced you to my girls. That alone should tell you how I feel. It's just that— with Malcolm I said it so fast. I didn't give it enough time and I ended up being very dependent on him. I don't want to make that same mistake."

George hummed and moved closer to me, bringing a hand up to cup one side of my jaw.

"Take all the time you need." He smiled, kissing me softly. "But in the meantime... eat up. I didn't make you breakfast for nothing."

I chuckled, moving closer to the desk to eat while Leah played with some dolls on the floor, laughing to herself.

"How's it going with your kids?" I asked. "Is Roxanne still adorable?"

"She's always adorable." He smiled. "She wants to meet you terribly but Fred is a bit more... hesitant to say the least."

I hummed.

"I want them both to meet you, just like I want you to meet them, but I also want them both to be ready."

"Of course." I nodded. "I'm sure Fred just needs time."

George and I continued to eat together, talking about anything we possibly could, checking up on Leah from time to time to make sure she was alright.

She ended up falling asleep on the floor again, causing me to find a blanket in the cupboard. George picked her up to place her on the small sofa, and I then spread the blanket over her tiny body.

"She looks like you." He said as we looked at her. I frowned as I looked up at George.

"You think so?"

"She's got your bone structure."

A smile spread on my lips before I looked at Leah again.

"She looks mostly like her father."