October 2000

Charlie had been gone for a few weeks now, he left shortly after Hermione's birthday and was set to return sometime around mid-October. In the meantime, it was just George and Verity at the shop and to say they were struggling without Charlie's presence would have been the understatement of the millennium.

Even with the little notice he had, George felt rather confident that he and Verity could manage on their own, so he hadn't really considered hiring anyone temporary. The end of September was rarely ever a busy time in the shop, after all. But after a few days without him, their patience with each other was already wearing thin and he knew they needed some sort of help before they ended up killing each other.

That's where Eloise came in. In Charlie's absence, she had been helping close the shop every evening to the best of her abilities. At first, George felt quite guilty for allowing her to essentially work for him for free, despite how many times she told him she truly didn't mind. Each night she'd come in after a long day at the Ministry and restock the shelves with Verity while he handled balancing that day's earnings, never once complaining – Verity did more than enough of that for all three of them.

Eloise was a blessing, she truly was. Not only to himself but to Verity as well. And not just because she was the only one willing to organize the towering Skiving Snackbox displays or clean out the Pygmy Puff cages. It was her presence and encouragement that held them together. Those words of encouragement are what seemed to stick with Verity most of all.

It had been a little over a week since Verity first brought up the idea of expanding the shop to an international market to George. Charlie had been gone for a mere five days at the time and she had already realized that time apart from him simply wouldn't work for her in the long run – regardless of the countless stack of letters he wrote to her each day.

At first, George had been incredibly taken aback as the idea seemingly came out of nowhere but when she explained that it had been Eloise's suggestion, it suddenly made more sense.

Eloise had always been career driven for as long as he'd known her, it wasn't a surprise at all that she believed his store could achieve success beyond Diagon Alley if they all put in the work.

With her level of ambition, George sometimes wondered if she would have been sorted into Slytherin had she been a student at Hogwarts rather than Beauxbatons. But he quickly dismissed the thought, if only because he couldn't imagine himself ever being drawn to someone from that house. Really, it was Ravenclaw that seemed much more fitting, if he had to choose one.

If Eloise was anything, it was bright. Only she could have come up with the solution that kept Verity's dreams and romance thriving. Her mind was a treasure trove full of ideas that he'd never consider if not for her – his clever girl.

He could almost picture her now, with her blonde curls bouncing behind her as she hurried her way down the corridors to her lessons. A blue tie around her neck and Charms textbook clutched tightly to her chest as she weaved through the crowd of students. At the thought alone, he knew he would have been smitten immediately.

The hypothetical of the two of them crossing paths as teens ran through his mind a lot. Whether it was the alternate reality where she grew up in the English countryside and attended Hogwarts during her most formative years, or even the idea of them meeting during his sixth year when Beauxbatons visited the school for the Tournament.

Part of him longed for the years they could have spent growing up together, wishing he could turn back time and do it all over again. Honestly, he wished he could do that with plenty of moments in his life.

But George had made enough progress in coming to terms with the events that occurred two years ago to know that Eloise came into his life exactly when she needed to and that dwelling on things that couldn't be changed would only consume him in darkness. Had their paths crossed any sooner, George knew that whatever their relationship would have potentially been at the time of Fred's death, it would have likely ended badly.

It didn't take the downfall of his relationship with Alicia to make it obvious to him, even his closest friendships with Lee and Angelina were much more distant than they had been before the war ended. All he had as a constant now was his family and Verity.

As for Verity, it was merely their proximity doing all the work for him. He couldn't very well avoid seeing his employee every single day and firing her was off the table when the only reason the shop was still up and running was because of her. Not that she would have allowed him to let her go in the first place. He was well and truly stuck with Verity, and while he'd never admit it, he was glad.

Life sure had a funny and occasionally cruel way of working, and in some ways, he was thankful that Eloise didn't know him before the death of his twin. A sinking feeling grew inside him every time he considered the possibility.

The woman adored him more than he felt he deserved. It was as if he was what made her world turn and he couldn't help but wonder whether she would've thought so highly of him had she known him before everything fell apart. He certainly hoped so, but there was no use in lingering on the uncertainty of an alternate timeline.

The partially built toy sitting on the corner of his desk stirred for a moment, pulling him back to the present. It effectively brought his thoughts back to the idea that Eloise had planted in Verity's mind only a few short weeks ago.

Opening up more shops around England had always been a goal of his and Fred's, one that George had quickly abandoned upon his brother's untimely death. But international expansion was reaching far beyond their wildest dreams. Initially he was quite dismissive of the idea, but the more he and Verity talked about it, the more realistic it began sounding. Part of him wondered if she had slipped some sort of potion into his afternoon tea that had convinced him to go along with all of her whims.

Honestly, he wouldn't put it past Verity.

Eventually he did tell her that he wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea, but suggested they table the discussion for after the New Year. His main goal at the moment was completing his newest invention by the Christmas season and he felt as though he finally had a breakthrough. The last thing he wanted was to be sidetracked by any other big projects within the shop.

That's why he found himself being holed up in his office on that Wednesday evening when he really should have been helping Verity close up the shop. Honestly, he should have helped her at any point that day, but he just couldn't break himself away from the golden contraption in front of him.

Guilt was pushed to the back of his mind. He refused to allow himself to imagine Verity on her own, juggling the line at the till, as well as inevitably consoling the panicked mother whose small child had turned themselves into a giant canary after sneaking a nibble at a Canary Cream in one aisle, while quickly having to go and save a different kid who had found themselves adhered to the ceiling with a pair of Sticky Trainers on in another aisle.

How many hours it had truly been of him hunched over his desk, he had no clue. That was the one setback of moving his office to an old storage closet – no windows. The oil lamp he lit that morning was waning, however, and he knew Eloise would likely be arriving from the Ministry soon, if she hadn't already.

George set his wand aside and picked up the amalgamation of gold and bronze scrap metal before him and placed it in the palm of his hand. Of course he intended on making this contraption much better looking before releasing it to the public, he simply needed to make sure the magic within it worked properly before worrying about the presentation.

His eyes were trained to his hand, concentrating hard on the invention held within. At first, it did nothing and George felt the overwhelming urge to chuck it into the bin beside his desk. But suddenly, a small set of wings emerged from the center, fluttering with a stutter like a golden snitch that had seen much better days.

A wave of relief washed over him as it hovered above his open hand for a few moments before collapsing down into a pile of scrap in his palm. While it could have been better, this was the most successful test so far and it gave him enough hope that he could potentially work it out by Christmas.

The strict timeline he set for himself was honestly because the gadget was intended to be a gift of sorts. It was one that could also be sold to the general public, but had mostly been a passion project for himself and the deadline was crucial.

Just before he could set the invention off to the side so he could jot down a few quick notes, a gentle knock against his office door broke his attention away from his work.

"Bonsoir, mon chéri. It's me."

Suddenly, the tiny toy in George's hand began going berserk as its makeshift wings fluttered with a power he'd not yet experienced. It flew higher and higher out of George's reach as it circled the ceiling in a hectic pattern.

"Uh, just a minute." he responded, jumping up from his desk chair and reaching for the gadget to no avail.

After knocking over his jar of purple ink and painfully stubbing his toe against the corner of his desk, it seemed as though the amount of ruckus his attempt at catching the blasted thing was causing had been a source of concern for the woman out in the hall.

"Is everything okay?" he heard Eloise's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes, fine!" he replied in a hurry after nearly tripping over the leg of the armchair in the corner of his office.

After a few more chaotic moments, he'd finally managed to capture the invention and shove it into a drawer, quickly drawing his wand and casting a locking charm on it to prevent the toy from making an abrupt escape. It was at that moment that George realized he never was fit to play Seeker, he had no idea how Harry managed it.

Once he'd gained his composure, he made his way to the door, attempting to quickly straighten his tie and flatten out his hair before opening it. With a smile as though nothing had happened, he turned the handle to reveal Eloise's inquisitive face.

Without even so much as a greeting, Eloise glanced around his shoulder as if she expected to see some sort of rowdy creature in the room, but there was nothing. Nothing but the spilled bottle of ink on his desk that he had yet to clean up and the quiet rattling of his invention inside his desk drawer, that he desperately hoped would stop any time now.

"What was all that noise?" she asked as she finally gazed up at him.

George shrugged casually, acting as if he had no idea what she was talking about, "Nothing, just working."

The blonde's brows furrowed, but she didn't press on, "Verity says you have been shut in here all day."

"Did she?"

Eloise nodded as she took a step forward and grasped his tie, truly straightening it out. In his haste, he must have done a rubbish job at appearing put together after his battle with the flying toy, "She also says you didn't come out during lunch."

Verity had a horrible habit of trying to mother him. Although she was much too irresponsible of an influence to really consider as a parental figure, she was more like a fun aunt. One who loved to nag but never followed through on her threats, instead giving up at the first sign of a good time.

"I've just been focused, no need to worry."

A disapproving frown painted Eloise's rosy lips, "You still have to eat something."

George wrapped his arm around her waist, resting a warm hand on the small of her back as he leaned forward to press a kiss to Eloise's lips that she pulled away from far too soon for his liking. But he didn't object, he merely smiled at her despite the troubled expression that remained firmly on her face.

"I'll eat. We can get takeaway, my treat. Just as soon as I finish counting the till." he assured her.

Eloise stepped away slightly and held up a small purple sachet full of coins that he didn't even realize she had in her possession. Then again, with a face as beautiful as hers, he didn't really ever care to glance at what was in her hands.

"Verity took care of it and I restocked all the shelves already." Eloise replied rather sternly, almost as if she were challenging George to find another excuse to avoid eating.

Any guilt that George felt over leaving them to take care of all the closing duties on their own left George's mind as his hand brushed against hers as he retrieved the velvet bag from her grasp. As he tossed the sack of coins the short distance to his desk chair, he grabbed hold of Eloise's hand with a smirk despite the skeptical look in her eyes.

"Hard work should be rewarded, don't you think?" he whispered as he stepped backwards and pulled her into his dimly lit office.

Once the door closed, George didn't hesitate to pull Eloise into his embrace. The smell of lavender that wafted off her curls never got old to him, if anything, it smelled like home. Like being safe from harm, and free of worries, and happy. So bloody happy.

The gentle kiss he placed on her lips didn't last long as she pulled away with a giggle. George couldn't help but frown and raise a brow at the sudden amusement she found in the situation.

With a smile and a shake of her head, her delicate hands ran down his chest, "You shouldn't kiss your employees, you know."

"But you're not on my payroll, darling." he grinned with a devilish sense of mischief.

Eloise giggled again, accompanied by the faintest of crimson blush that rushed to her cheeks that was barely noticeable in the dim lantern light. On more than one occasion, she had made it known to George that she wasn't very fond of how dark and small his office was. She claimed it was claustrophobic and a bit grim. However, in moments like this, he found it perfect for setting the mood and even she seemed to be in agreement by the way she quickly deepened their kiss as their lips met once more.

A faint whimper escaped her throat as George's hands blindly searched for any inch of bare skin on her body that he could as he slowly lifted the hem of her blouse, splaying his calloused fingers over her waist. The sound was enough to make him melt as his other hand buried deep within her curls.

It was clear to see that they were well on their way to skipping dinner entirely.

That is, until she whispered his name longingly against his lips and a sudden loud rattling sound came from the top drawer of George's desk. Eloise shot away from him and turned to the source of the noise with widened eyes.

"What in Merlin's name is that?" she asked breathlessly with her hands still gripped tightly on his shoulders.

A weary hand dragged through his hair, cursing himself for inventing something that just had to ruin the moment, "My invention's been a bit on the fritz today."

The look in her eyes when she gazed back up at him let him know that she seemed a little fearful that he had created something that seemed mere seconds away from breaking free of its confines.

Her expression alone gave him a good chuckle and as much as he wanted to reassure her by telling her his entire plan for the little gadget hidden within his desk drawer, he simply couldn't. At least not yet.

Instead, he simply decided to change the subject as he gingerly brushed her hair away from her face, "How about we go get dinner?"

A/N:

This was a bit of a shorter filler chapter but I just really missed writing George's POV and I think it's important to have some background into what he's been working on before we reach the end of this fic. (Which is coming up way too soon and I don't want to think about it 😭💔)

I hope you still enjoyed it, though!! 🧡