November 1998

A sharp knock on the door of George's office broke his attention away from the mindless scribbling he had been doing on scrap sheets of parchment. He had been avoiding Charlie and Verity, as usual, but unfortunately that was quickly coming to an end this morning. George wasn't going to give in that easily though, he promptly ignored the knock on the door, much like he was ignoring everything else in his life.

"George, open up." the sound of Verity's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

"Go away." he replied flatly.

"I'm coming in." she announced, reaching for the handle.

"I think not." George said as he quickly locked the door with his wand, preventing her from coming in.

Verity could have easily unlocked it with her own wand, but George's behavior was annoying her to the point of surrender. He heard an aggravated grumple leave her lips and the sound of her footsteps growing distant as she left the hallway, causing him to relax and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he could have some peace again. At least that was until she came back a few short moments later, this time with Charlie in tow.

Charlie's knuckles rapping on the door sounded stronger, but less urgent than Verity's, "Hey, mate. Let us in."

"Absolutely not."

The click of the lock on his door signified that George's plan to keep them out wasn't entirely foolproof. Charlie opened the door slowly, pocketing his wand as he entered. The sympathetic smile on his face contrasted greatly with the scowl and crossed arms of the small blonde witch behind him. It was as if they were about the play the good cop and the bad cop.

"George, will you please hear us out?" Charlie started softly.

"What are you doing? Quitting? Going on strike?" George replied in a defensive tone.

"Just about!" Verity blurted out angrily, but Charlie put his arm in front of her to keep her back from George, almost as if he expected her to lunge at him.

George laughed darkly before an aggravated frown formed on his lips, "Go ahead and go then, I won't stop you."

"George, knock it off. We're worried about you, about the store. We just want to talk and see how we can help." Charlie pleaded, his voice much kinder and calmer than Verity's.

"Doesn't seem like she wants to help."

"Oh that's rich! You think I don't want to help? Charlie and I came back and reopened the store for you. Charlie moved home from Romania for this, he left his dream job to help you. I lost people in the war too George, but I never gave up on this place. I'm here for you. Working here was never my dream, you idiot. I only came back because I fucking care." Verity shouted, pushing against Charlie who was still holding her back with ease.

"I never asked either of you to do any of that."

"We did it for Fred too." Charlie added softly.

"Don't bring him into this." George spat.

"How can we not? This place was his baby too and you're running it into the ground." Verity interjected.

George stood from his desk, his hands clenched into white knuckled fists, "You think I don't realize what a huge failure I am? How I'm letting everyone around me down? How I'm letting Fred down? You think I don't fucking know that Verity?"

"No, I think you know it. I just think you don't care." Verity spoke calmly, but her words had a poisonous venom to them and she knew it would upset George.

"Ver, please stop." Charlie whispered, but she wasn't done.

"You make Charlie and I handle everything alone, we've had to go from being open six days a week to four because we can't meet demand anymore. Soon it'll be three, and then we'll have to shut down for good. We're out of nearly everything people even come here for. The magic is gone, you let it die George." Verity scolded, pointing an accusatory finger at George.

"Get out." George said quietly, the anger in his voice cut through the room as his eyes locked on Verity's.

"No, you have to face this. You can't keep hiding." Verity replied, matching his mood.

"You're a bitch, Verity."

Charlie quickly flicked his head down at Verity to read her expression after the insult left George's lips, but to his surprise she didn't have a look of pain or shock, she merely had a smirk on her face as if she was satisfied with how deep she had gotten under George's skin.

Verity honestly did care about George deeply, despite the harsh words she had said to him. But in this moment all she wanted to do was make him realize everything she and Charlie had been putting up with, she was sick of it. Her own anger from what she had been dealing with was clouding her better judgement. Rather than letting it go and stepping aside to allow Charlie to handle the situation, which would have no doubt gone better, Verity just wouldn't give in out of spite.

"And you're a prick, George."

In his rage, George stormed out of the office to cool off, desperately wanting to be anywhere that Charlie and Verity weren't. He deliberately bumped Charlie's shoulder as he passed them and refused to meet Verity's eyes on the way out. He didn't know exactly where he would go, he knew he just needed to leave.

As he threw open the front door of the shop and stepped out onto the cobblestone sidewalk of Diagon Alley, he was so caught up in his own anger that he didn't notice any of his surroundings. In the blink of an eye, he ran straight into a witch who had been out doing her shopping with enough force to cause her to drop all of her shopping bags on the sidewalk spilling their contents everywhere.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" George quickly apologized as he kneeled down next to her to help gather her things.

But when a tendril of curly golden hair entered his peripherals, he got the sinking feeling this wasn't just some random witch. As he looked up to meet the woman's gaze he was greeted by the kind ocean eyes he was weak for. It was Eloise. Suddenly his hands stopped moving, all he could do was stare at her, causing her to let out a laugh.

"Any particular reason you're staring, George?" she asked with a smirk, using his own words against him from the last time they saw each other a week prior.

He shook his head, coming back to Earth, and resumed gathering all the things he caused her to spill on the sidewalk. Clearly she had been shopping for gifts of some sort, the wide array of items she had made no sense for her to be splurging on herself, but George did his best to avoid being nosy as he put everything back into their corresponding bags.

"I'm really sorry, Eloise. I was just taking a break and I didn't see you."

"You seemed to be in quite the rush for a break." she teased.

George's brows furrowed as he picked up the last bag to hand back to Eloise as the two stood up. The last thing he wanted her to know was how upset he was and all of the hateful things he and Verity had said to one another. All of Verity's words were ringing in George's ears over and over, about how he was a failure, he didn't care, and he was a prick.

He honestly agreed with every word she said to him, it was just a different experience hearing those words come from someone he cared about. It made all of his self-loathing become a reality and he didn't want to face it. Eloise's smile faded as she studied his expression, somehow knowing instantly that something was amiss.

"What happened?"

"Hmm?" George asked, turning his head to the blonde woman next to him.

"Something happened, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he assured her, but shook his head before continuing as if he wasn't even convinced that he was alright, "We've all been at each other's throats lately, I just needed to get out of there."

The warm smile returned to Eloise's lips as she came up with a scheme in her head, "Come with me and help me Christmas shop."

"It's November 7th, isn't it a bit early?"

"Never! I always start my holiday shopping this early, you should know better. I'm sure your store gets quite busy the closer you get to Christmas."

"I suppose you're right." George said as his face fell into a slight frown, the last thing he wanted to think about what the Christmas rush when he was so unmotivated to invent new products.

"Do you have time?"

"Honestly I'm pretty useless when I'm there, so they won't miss me."

Her brows furrowed in pity at his comment, "I'm sure that's not true. At any rate, I won't keep you long, just long enough for you to be in a better mood when you go back. Also, you can help me come up with ideas for your family's gifts."

"You don't need to get them anything."

"Nonsense! They've been so kind to me since I moved here, it's the least I can do." she replied with a bright smile.

George sighed and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, attempting to relax from the situation he just escaped from, "Alright then, where to first?"

"I was actually on my way to this little stationary store I've been wanting to visit for a while. I thought I could find something for my mum and maybe Percy too while I'm there."

George let out a chuckle, "Honestly, just give Percy a paperweight and he would be thrilled."

"Then I'll get him the best paperweight I can find." she replied with a smile, holding out a hand for George to take.

He was initially hesitant at the gesture, after all, for all he knew Eloise and Dhani were still dating. Though he didn't know how serious or exclusive they were, he tried to convince himself that worrying about something as small as holding hands was quite juvelinal. They were in their twenties, not twelve years old. Plus, she probably only wanted to hold his hand to lead him to the store, not as any grand gesture of love - he was overthinking everything again.

Finally he decided to grasp Eloise's hand and she gave it a reassuring squeeze before she turned to lead him down the cobblestone path. But now that Dhani was back in his mind, George's curiosity was getting the better of him, he needed to know more about their relationship before it drove him mad.

Charlie never really told him any details about it simply because George never asked. But something about walking hand in hand with Eloise through Diagon Alley and Christmas shopping for his family felt oddly intimate, he needed to know he wasn't crossing any boundaries or making things up in his head.

"Thought about what you'll get for Dhani for Christmas yet?" he asked, hoping the question was casual enough to not raise any red flags.

"Hmm? Oh no, not yet."

So she was considering getting him a gift, that's a sign that they were still seeing each other. But it wasn't concrete enough to stop George from spiralling deeper into his obsessive overthinking.

"How's that been going by the way?"

"Why do you ask?"

Shoot, she's on to me. I need to drop it before she thinks I'm being too nosy.

"No reason, never mind." George shook his head as they continued down the path.

"It's alright, we decided to stop seeing each other, I just didn't know if Charlie had told you."

George felt his heartbeat in his throat. Why was Eloise's sudden availability so frightening to him? Why, after they bared their souls to one another only a week ago, was something as simple as walking together and holding hands causing him so much anxiety? These are the kind of feelings he was afraid of when they first met.

"I'm sorry to hear that." George replied not so convincingly, it was quite the lie after all. George wasn't sorry at all, if anything he was just relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about his jealous feelings anymore.

"It's okay, there wasn't a fight or anything. We're still on good terms. We just decided the distance and not seeing each other for weeks didn't really make sense. Plus -" but she cut herself off, causing George to look down at her, noticing a tint of red painting her cheeks.

"Plus?" he inquired.

"It's nothing." she shook her head, continuing to look straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.

"Well now you can't go and say it's nothing, expecting I won't be curious. Don't make me force it out of you, I can be quite convincing you know." he joked, a piece of the old mischievous George coming to the surface.

Eloise shook her head slightly knowing she was about to sound ridiculous, "He was vanilla."

"I'm sorry?" George laughed.

"It's silly."

"I'd agree with that, but you can't stop there." George encouraged as he gently nudged her with his shoulder.

"We went to get ice cream on our first date and he ordered vanilla. Maybe I'm overthinking it but of all the flavors, that's what he chose. He's kind and charming, and patient, but he's vanilla. And when we-" but she cut herself off again, for fear of saying too much.

"There you go again Elle, stopping mid sentence."

George's voice was like taking a swig of Veritaserum, something about hearing her nickname on his lips helped her feel safe enough to tell him the truth, even if it was silly or embarrassing.

"When we kissed there was nothing, it was vanilla. Which is fine if you like that, don't get me wrong! It's just... you know, boring."

Somehow the knowledge of Dhani and Eloise kissing didn't bother George, it was most likely due to the fact that Eloise didn't seem to be much of a fan of kissing him. Had the story gone differently, George probably would have felt a different kind of anger than he did when he left the store - an anger with himself for letting her slip through his grasp and into the arms of another man.

"So what flavor am I?" George asked confidently.

Eloise hesitated to respond as they quickly approached the stationary store, immediately remembering the comparison she made in her head, "I haven't put much thought into it." she lied.

"Is that so?" he asked, not fully believing her.

"I truly haven't." she looked up at him, there was a sparkle in his warm brown eyes and mischievous smirk on his lips that told her she had been caught in her lie.

Truth was she had put a great deal of thought into it, that much was obvious. Eloise wasn't even much of a drinker honestly, but the comparison to firewhisky was all too accurate in her mind. Just being in George's presence had an intoxicating effect on her. The warmth of his hand in hers, the sound of his deep voice in her ears, the fiery color of his hair.

It was clear, the man beside her was just like the drink and Eloise couldn't get enough. A thought in the back of her head tried to remind her that firewhisky could lead to mistakes and regret, it was only a matter of time. But she hadn't gone too deep down any paths that could lead to disappointment or shame, yet.

"Well, you'll let me know when you figure it out, yeah?" he grinned.

"Oh er, well anyway, we're here! Let's go find that paperweight!" she stammered, quickly letting go of George's hand to push open the shop door, rushing inside as if the conversation would somehow be left out on the sidewalk if she moved fast enough.

George put his hands in his pockets as he followed her inside, a smirk permanently plastered on his lips wondering what exactly Eloise was hiding from him. He found her sudden nervousness about the conversation quite endearing, he simply couldn't resist the urge to tease her about it.

"Couldn't be strawberry, could I?" he said in a low voice, leaning over close to her ear as she browsed a set of quills.

The closeness of his body and the feeling of his breath on her skin caused her to involuntarily let out a small gasp. Internally she had hoped it was quiet enough for him to not notice, but when George leaned away from her with a smug grin on his face, it was quite obvious that he was proud of his effect on her. She cleared her throat in an attempt to compose herself, reminding herself that he was probably doing this just to get a reaction from her, and she simply couldn't let him to win that easily

Not wanting George to get too confident, she turned to him with a smirk and replied, "No, I don't think so. Strawberry is far too sweet for you."

George parted his lips, slightly taken aback by her comment. But the smirk quickly returned to his face as he became quite entertained by the game they were playing. He followed her to a section of pastel colored rolls of parchment and as she was browsing through them he leaned on the shelf next to her.

"What about peanut butter?"

Though she avoided his gaze, he saw the corner of her lip quirk up before she responded, "Why? Because you're absolutely nuts?"

"Well, some days I am." George conceded with a nod.

"No, you're not peanut butter." she rolled her eyes as she brushed past him, making sure to let their arms come in contact for just a brief moment, the tension of just that small touch giving Eloise the upper hand in their game.

"Give me a hint then." he begged, following close behind her.

"I told you I haven't put much thought into it." she replied innocently, coming to a stop near a shelf of leather bound journals.

"I simply don't believe that Elle. You've put enough thought into knowing what flavours I'm not." he said, gently grabbing her wrist as she pulled a journal from the shelf, causing her to meet his gaze.

"Maybe my Christmas gift to you will be telling you what flavor you are." she replied sarcastically.

A wide grin grew on George's lips at her suggestion, the idea of it amused him greatly, "Then we have a deal."

Her brows knit together in a slight frown, "I wasn't being serious."

Checkmate.

"Sorry, Elle. I've decided that's all I want for Christmas." he replied, letting go of her wrist and crossing his arms as he claimed victory over their game.

"You're a nightmare." she laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"So I've been told."

George had completely forgotten everything that had happened back at the shop earlier in the morning thanks to Eloise. And though he would have to go back and face that reality eventually, he'd return with a much better attitude thanks to the blonde who somehow brought out parts of the old George with ease, parts of him he didn't even know he still had inside.

But despite his current mood, something lingered in the back of his mind. A sense of fear that Eloise was getting too close too fast and it caused part of him to want to guard his heart, regardless of how good he felt to have her around. He had this horrible nagging feeling that he needed to protect himself, and he just couldn't fully shake it no matter what.