Last Summer // George Weasley

16. Merry and Bright

Song: the lighthouse keeper by Sam smith

The next morning Fred woke you up by banging loudly on the bedroom door
"It's Christmas" he shouted "get up"
You, Ginny, and Hermione let out a collective groan and slowly got out of bed. Mrs.Weasley was downstairs and to your delight so was Mr. Weasley, You gave him and big hug when you saw him
"So glad to have you back" you said finally letting go
"Good to be back" he chuckled softly
"Come on everyone let's open presents" Fred shouted from the living room. Everyone sat around the tree, the fire roaring behind you keeping you plenty warm.
"Go ahead everyone open them up" Mrs. Weasley smiled. You opened your gift from her and it was a new sweater. It was maroon this time with a lion on the front for Gryffindor
"Wow I love it" you smiled and pulled off the sweatshirt you were wearing without thinking, all you had under it was a thin white tank top and no bra. You quickly threw on the new sweater hoping no one noticed and it looked like no one did, until you looked at George his eyes were glued to you and his cheeks were a bit red. You blushed too but quickly looked away hoping he hadn't seen you notice him. Everyone continued to open their gifts and everyone had liked what you picked out for them. You had gotten Ginny a quidditch jersey for her favorite team, Hermione a book on advanced charms, Fred a notebook for shop ideas and of course some of his favorite candies, for Ron you got him new quidditch gloves, you gave Harry some of his favorite things from zonkos and George held the package for him in his hands but tucked it away.
You opened all of your presents from your friends and couldn't believe all of the amazing things they had gotten you Harry and Ron got you a bag full of your favorite sweets and some new socks, Hermione got you a defensive charms book, Ginny got you a picture frame and inside was the photo you snapped of you Hermione and Ginny before the party in the common room and Fred got you and extendable ear that he and George had created. As everyone sat talking about all the new things that had gotten you couldn't help but feel incredibly happy, maybe your family didn't want you but this one was far better.

When Mrs. Weasley called you in for dinner later that night you wasted no time getting to the table, you were starving and the food smelled amazing. Everyone filled their plates and Mrs. Weasley watched a proud smile on her face
"A toast" Mr. Weasley said raising his glass "to friends, family and Mr. Harry Potter whom without, I wouldn't be here"
"Cheers" everyone shouted back clinking their glasses together. You sat down next to Harry and gently bumped his shoulder with yours and threw him a small smile, you knew he felt uncomfortable with the whole situation. Everyone tucked into their dinner and the conversation flowed, you watched your friends talk about quidditch and school and felt lucky to be here. The whole while George was watching you and thinking how lucky he was to be here here with you.
"You alright George" Fred asked him "barely touched your dinner"
"Is everything alright dear" Mrs. Weasley looked concerned
"No sorry I'm fine, it's great mum you've outdone yourself yet again" George took a big bite of his food and smiled. Fred cracked a smile and winked at you making you giggle and accidentally start to choke on the bite of food you had in your mouth. Next to you Harry looked concerned as you coughed and he patted your back
"Thanks Harry" you were finally able to get words out. Fred was doubled over laughing at you and you looked down at his parents to make sure they weren't watching before you showed him your middle finger and stuck your tongue out at him
"Rude" he gasped and you just shrugged.
Once dinner was finished everyone helped with the cleaning up so Mrs. Weasley could help Mr. Weasley get comfortable for the night.
"Who's going to play me in wizard chess" Ron asked the group
"I will" Ginny volunteered
"But wait who's going to play exploding snaps with me" Fred asked putting the clean plate in his hands back on the shelf "George.... How bout you mate"
"Uh I'm good but thanks"
"Harry" Fred asked
"Sure Fred I'll play" Harry agreed.
"Why wouldn't you play with Fred" you asked George quietly once everyone had started talking again
"I was just hoping- I mean I have something for you.... And I wanted- would you come up stairs with me"
"Oh..... yeah" you nodded "sure"
You and George slipped out of the kitchen and went up to his room without anyone noticing. Once inside of his room George closed the door and you sat down on his bed
"I just thought maybe we could just do this together" George pulled out the small package you had given him earlier, still wrapped and another package that you could tell George had attempted to wrap.
"Sorry about the wrapping" George smiled at you sheepishly and handed you the box
"It's fine" you smiled
"Go ahead... you can open it" you carefully pulled apart the paper, revealing a deep purple box. You looked up at George and he was watching you, almost nervously. You opened the box and a small gasp escaped your lips
"George....." you trailed off picking up the beautiful small gold locket and turning it over in your hands. There was something engraved on the back and you looked closely I'm in love with an uptown girl
"Is it okay" George asked "do you like it"
"I.....I—I love it" you finally looked up at him and smiled
"Open it up"
You opened the locket and inside was a small photo of you and George from last year. Fred had taken it, it was you and George in the snow outside of hogsmeade being silly and sticking your tongue out. You continued to stare down at the photo holding back your tears
"It's perfect" you whispered finally looking up to meet George's eyes and a few tears spilled over. George reached out to brush them away and smiled down at you leaving his hand on your face
"I'm glad you like it" George whispered back "you deserve something nice"
You sniffed and wiped away your tears before climbing over to George, sitting in his lap and hugging him tightly. George held you back and all you could hear was his steady heartbeat that made you feel calm and safe.
"My turn now" you asked
"Whatever you'd like"
"Okay" you pushed the present to him "open it"
George smiled and continued to hold you in his lap as he opened the package. It was a tiny black box and he looked slightly confused before he opened it. Inside sat a key. George only looked more confused as he picked it up in his hands
"So you see.... I found an amazing shop in diagonal alley this summer, with Fred" you explained "that day the three of us went before the school year. Fred said it was perfect and so one weekend last month I went back" George hadn't moved an inch since you started talking "I went and I put down the payment they needed, so starting in may..... the shop is yours" George still hadn't moved his face expressionless
"Are you..... serious"
"Yes I'm sorry I just thought it was the prefect opportunity and Fred liked it too, he already knows. I'm sorry"
George jumped up from the bed making you topple over in the process.
"ARE YOU KIDDING?! I LOVE IT" George grabbed you and helped you up from the ground and hugged you tightly "this is incredible"
You laughed and hugged him back
"But I don't understand how could you afford this"
"Dad" you said and shrugged
"Oh wow....got it" George was still entirely too excited to sit "I just-youre just ..... amazing" George laughed and hugged you again. Moments later Fred came bursting through the door
"You told him?!"
"Hell yeah she did" George shouted holding the key up and high diving his brother. Both of the boys trapped you in a bone crushing hug
"You know what this means Samantha" Fred asked
"What"
"You're our partner"
"So you'll never get rid of us" George exclaimed making you laugh
"No no it's a gift, that doesn't make me your partner"
"Yes it does" Fred said finally putting you down "we want you to be"
"I'm not really sure what my plans are after school" you admitted
"Well then it's perfect, come with us until you figure it out" Fred said
"Please" George begged
"Maybe" you smiled knowing you'd eventually give in. The rest of the night you listened to the twins tell you about every single idea and plan they had and how the shop will turn out. You smiled at them from George's bed listening to every word, until your eyes started to feel heavy. You snuggled into the blankets and eventually fell asleep.

"No she's definitely asleep" you heard Fred whisper "so did you tell her"
"I mean no I didn't say it but..... I think she knows" George answered him
"Well how can you be sure"
"Look at what it says"
"Oh...." Fred paused "did she say anything about it"
"No I mean not directly"
"Then you'll just have to tell her"
"I know I'm just....."
"Scared" Fred finished George's though
"Yeah.... That"
"I don't fucking blame you" Fred said making George laugh
"I just hate myself for the way I treated her, I made her cry for fucks sake" you heard George cross the room "I hate seeing her cry. I'd rather be tortured than to be the reason she'd cry"
"Yeah you were a prick for awhile" Fred said and you heard something hit him "sorry but it's true"
"What if she can't forgive me"
"You'll never know unless you try"
"I want to make is special" George finally said
"You think if you make it extra special you'll get laid" Fred laughed
"For fucks sake" George sighed "no....well I mean obviously I wouldn't mind that, but that's not exactly what I had in mind"
"Well brother I am here to help make it as special as possible"
"Thanks Freddie"