Harry Potter One-shots

Old Friends (George)

Diagon Alley was always crowded during the day. Some shops were more crowded than others, especially during August as most students chose to buy their school supplies at that point, so the bookshop, for instance, was usually full. Besides Gringotts, there was one shop though that was full almost every day of the year; the joke shop of your former classmates, Fred and George Weasley.

Fred was now dead - another casualty of the war. The shop's former name had changed now and you distinctly remembered it had remained closed for some years before Ron, George's younger brother, had come to help him with the shop. You had never had any form of relationship with Fred, truth was you hardly talked aside from some quips here and there, but you and George did have a past. You had been together for a year after your graduation but then, you had broken up because of the war. It was his idea, you were unwilling to go on with it but in the end, you gave in and mainly out of stubbornness, agreed. As Fred died, George never really was the same again.

Despite the past you had with George, you still found your way in front of the joke shop. It wasn't exactly out of choice, though. It was, in a sense, your job.

You were taking care of young children from wizarding families and one of them had noticed the pygmy puffs in the shop and wanted one. Her parents had asked you to buy one for her and so, you were now here to buy a pygmy puff for her, and as it seemed like a good idea, for every child you took care of. You were sure, they were perfect pets as they were quite cute and great for cuddling.

Taking a deep breath, you walked in the shop and tried to navigate your way through the crowd to the pygmy puffs. Managing to make your way through the crowd, you turned to the shop worker who had been stationed there and offered him a smile.

"I want five pygmy puffs. Three of them in individual cages, please."

He smiled back at you and did as he was told. Grabbing your wand, you levitated the small creatures over the heads of the people in the shop as you made your way to the counter. You waited in the line for a while and then, finally, it was your turn. You placed the pygmy puffs on the counter and turned to the person behind it, only for the words you've been planning to say to die in your throat as you noticed George standing there, a small smile on his lips.

"Welcome to the shop again, darling."

He always used to call you that, you remembered as you smiled back at him. "Hello, George. I haven't seen you in a long time."

He nodded. "Yes, that's true." As if snapping out of some trance, he shook his head before looking at all the pygmy puffs in front of him. "These are a lot of pygmy puffs. What do you want them for?"

"I take care of some children and thought it would be a good idea to buy one for each of them," you explained with a smile as you searched for your wallet to pay.

"Really? I might just recommend your services to Bill, he certainly could use some help."

You sent him a bright smile as you found your money and handed it over. "Thank you, George. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, darling."

He sent you yet another wink as you flushed, grabbed the pygmy puffs and left. It was truly as if not a day had passed since you had been together. But this had been a long time ago, years, actually. Too many things had changed with the years, not just things you could see but others that were unseen as well.