Waldosia/// George Weasley

Chapter 15

George's eyes looked softer, lighter, less-guarded ever since that night at the Burrow, Clover noticed. Something had changed within him, something completely unknown to the blonde girl yet so noticeable.

She had begun going early with Ginny every morning to George's flat to wake him up, but as days passed the two girls were greeted with a completely different sight than they were used to. George would now be awake when they got to his flat, standing against his kitchen counter sipping on his muggle coffee while handing over a pre-made tea to Ginny. He had offered one to Clover the first time he was awake before they came, but she politely declined. There was still always tea waiting for her every morning at the Burrow, and Clover felt like it was made for her. It became part of her nighttime/morning ritual: sleep, nightmares, tea, George. It was more normalcy than she had ever experienced in her life, leaving Clover in an equally better mood as well.

With spirits high in the shop, Clover and George found themselves playfully bantering while organizing the packages of Dung bombs. 

"You're joking," George exasperatedly exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly at what the blonde girl just admitted.

"Nope," Clover replied, a chuckle slipping from her lips.

"You're telling me that Draco Malfoy, the boy who made Harry's life a living hell almost every year, was actually in love with Harry?!"

She threw her head back and let a louder laugh escape her mouth at the distorted expression on George's face. A nostalgic flood of time spent in the Slytherin common room entered her brain and caused her to smile a little harder, "That bloke couldn't go 5 minutes without talking about Harry. It was always Potter this, Potter that. I mean, honestly, it might have been closer to obsession than love."

George was about to respond when a shout sounded across the room, "Oi, blondie, catch!"

Clover caught the singular Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean that Lee chucked towards her directly in her mouth as she heard George respond back to him. "That's my nickname for her, get your own."

Her nose crinkled in distaste, "Eugh, you gave me a booger one, you git."

Lee walked towards her and threw an arm around her shoulder, winking as he responded, "I know, I took a bite out of it first."

"You arsehole!" She shouted while throwing his arm off of her, hopping on his back as soon as he tried running away from her.

The two play fought mindlessly, as if they have known each other forever, unknowingly gathering a laughing crowd around them. Shouts and cheers were heard from across the shop as they continued on. Once Lee had her leg firmly held in an uncomfortable position and Clover had his ear pinched within her fingers, George finally stepped in.

"Alright you two," he rolled his eyes playfully and plucked Clover off of Lee's back, "Let's get back to work, you prats."

The group of people dispersed from around the three and continued on into the shop. Clover, Lee, and George were about to do the same when a simple conversation froze them all in place.

"Mum, why doesn't he do anything fun anymore?!" A pre-teen boy, who had been watching the play fight in joy, disappointedly sighed when George separated Clover and Lee.

His mum apologetically looked back at the three and bent down to whisper to her son, "Go a little easy on him, love. Things haven't been the same since his brother died in the war."

Nobody was meant to hear it, they all knew that. But the woman's voice slipped out louder than she thought it did. The letters of her words were just enunciated enough that they echoed through the ears of all three of them. Both her and Lee's heads snapped over to stare at George, whose eyes immediately shifted to the ground. The softness that had developed in them was now gone, replaced by the stone cold numbness Clover was so used to staring at. And a moment later, George turned around and quickly left through the door that led to his flat.