Waldosia/// George Weasley

Chapter 22

By the time both George and Clover came barreling down the stairs into the shop, they were still covered in paint and had smiles turning up their lips. Lee caught sight of them first before they both saw that he was talking to Ginny across the register counter. Her lips dropped slightly in shock at seeing the two of them happily walking in the shop, no lingering ghosts or thoughts or memories. Just the two of them smiling. And, she couldn't help but think of just how much she's missed George's genuine smile.

"Oi, Gin," George took a break from laughing at something Clover had said as he called out to his little sister, "You've got to come see what Clover helped me do up there. It no longer looks like a bloody madhouse."

Ginny nodded, a smile of her own overwhelming her face from how happy her brother was. She flickered her gaze over to Clover and saw that her face was almost as glowing as his was; her smile grew even larger. "Yeah, Georgie, I'd love to."

As the two walked further into the shop, they saw Angelina there too. Her back was pressed against the other end of the counter and her eyes were glued onto them. She let her eyebrows furrow for a moment, not in malice or anger, but in curiosity.

"Ang, you too," George smiled at her and nodded towards his flat, his eyes falling on Clover before returning to her, "It looks brilliant."

And a second later, a sad smile passed across Angelina's face. One full of realization and understanding.

"Yeah, it no longer looks like a bucket of paint exploded in there," Clover snorted, nudging George in the elbow while doing so.

Suddenly, his eyes shone even brighter than before and he excitedly began mumbling to himself, "Paint explosion, paint everywhere, paint bomb."

With a quick Scourgify charm, he cleaned off both him and Clover before beginning to head towards the back of the shop.

"Where are you going?" Lee called out, "You still have a shop to run, you git."

Stopping just before a door that Clover had never noticed before, he turned and smirked, "I know, that's why I'll be in the thought room coming up with a new product if you need me."

With that being said, he entered the room and shut the door behind him, leaving three people staring at him with mouths dropped open.

"Did he just say he's going into the thought room?" Lee, Ginny, and Angelina shot out at the same time, surprise etched on all of their faces.

Clover nodded wordlessly as she watched Angelina chase after him, Lee and Ginny goofily laughing while staring after the two. Just as Lee was explaining how George hasn't come up with a new idea in almost a year, the bell above the door rung out.

Rory and Harry strolled in side-by-side while continuing a conversation, but the older man stopped for a second and took in the shop around him.

"Bloody fuck, it's bigger than Zonkos," Rory spoke as he looked in awe at the shelves of products, before quickly looking over at Harry with a raised eyebrow, "Reckon you're old enough that I can curse in front of you now."

"I've beat the darkest wizard in our time twice, I think a curse word won't kill me," Harry snickered with a teasing roll of his eyes, "You've never been here before?"

Rory stilled for a moment and shook his head slowly, "No, your parents were always more of the prankster type than I was. They would have loved it here."

Harry shrugged as the two made their way over to the group, "Yeah, they would have loved me too if they weren't dead."

"Merlin, do you always have to be so vulgar," The older man snorted, "Your mum would kill me if she knew half of the things you say."