Proceed with caution...
Clover jolted awake from her spot on the ground, her heartbeat quickening as an effect of Linny's scream replaying in her head. Her upper body thrashed upwards as she tried to catch her breath, hitting the top of her head on the hard surface next to her while doing so.
"Bloody fuck," she swore under her breath as she groaned while clutching her head and sitting upright.
She blinked and looked around as if trying to remember where she was. And as soon as her eyes landed on the engraved stone she was now sitting in front of, the memories came rushing back. She had wandered over to the cemetery to visit her sister when she wasn't able to fall asleep last night. Clover let out another stream of obscenities when she felt something trickle onto her hand from where she had hit her head.
She was about to grab her wand and cast a healing charm when her eyes briefly glanced over her watch, her eyes widening in panic as she read the time. The numbers 10:42am shone brightly and Clover immediately sprung up from her spot. Ginny's offer bounced around in her head and she internally groaned when she realized she was 12 minutes late for her job interview.
"Fucking hell, a perfect opportunity is thrown at you and you go and ruin it by falling asleep," she grumbled to herself as she grabbed her things and casted a cleaning spell over herself in order to look presentable.
As she ran out of the cemetery, she remembered that she was in the same clothes as last night, but quickly shook that thought out of her head when she realized she hadn't seen anyone yesterday. She continued sprinting until she hit Diagon Alley, making a sharp left turn while reaching into her bag for her toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste she had stolen from The Leaky Cauldron. Clover squirted a dab onto the brush before placing it into her mouth and scrubbing harshly. She could see the colorful building she was meant to be at almost 15 minutes ago now as she spat out her toothpaste into a nearby garbage bin. A stream of water swished around in her mouth when she mumbled the aguamenti charm two times; once to rinse her mouth and again to rinse her toothbrush.
When she reached the door of the building that read Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, she chucked everything back into her bag and straightened her outfit. Clover was too occupied with being on time and making herself look presentable to realize that the curtains were drawn over the main windows and/or that there was a sign written on the door. But as soon as she entered, she had realized her mistake.
A dark haired girl was laid out across a countertop directly in front of the door with her rich-toned thighs spread widely and her head thrown back in pleasure. Two hands were tucked under her shirt and her skirt was bunched up by the body pressed in between her legs, the body she knew belonged to George Weasley.
George Fucking Weasley, she thought as she admired his slightly toned chest that was intricately decorated with freckles and lingering scars. Her gaze slipped down from his bare torso to the trousers hanging loosely below his waist, before following the trail of auburn that led down to his-Oh.
"Shit," she breathed out when she finally processed the sight in front of her, catching the attention of the other two in the room.
Two pairs of eyes snapped over to a gawking Clover as they immediately fumbled around until their bare body parts were covered. Angelina jumped up from her position, pulling both her shirt and skirt back into position. George swore as he tucked himself back into his trousers and reached out for his shirt.
"I...," Clover opened her mouth to speak, to say anything that would calm down the embarrassment coursing through her body. But the shock still overpowered and she was left standing there with her mouth gaping open.
"What the fuck? Clover?" George gritted his teeth as his voice came out in a harsh whisper, throwing his shirt over his head and pointing over to the door, "Did you not read the sign on the door saying that we're closed for a lunch break?!"
Clover cleared her throat before letting the last bit of shock leave her body at George's tone. She crossed her arms over her chest and sarcastically quipped, "Lunch break my arse. I have an appointment."
"You're late," he mumbled out as a look of realization flashed over his face. Angelina looked between the two in confusion as George shifted uncomfortably due to his unfinished business.
"Well, you were shagging someone. Lovely to meet you, by the way," Clover smirked at George before smiling at Angelina. Finding her confidence once again, she made her way over to the countertop that the two in front of her were just hovered over and hopped on top to sit down.
Angelina's eyebrows furrowed while trying to figure out who the foreign girl was as George stared incredulously at Clover. She placed her hand on George's arm lightly and spoke hesitantly, her eyes lingering on the blonde girl before turning back towards George, "I'm guessing it's time for me to leave. I'll write, yeah?"
She placed a soft kiss on George's lips, not noticing that his eyes were still locked on Clovers. He mumbled a goodbye to her and watched Angelina leave the store before turning his attention back towards the smirking blonde.
"You're mental," he spoke out in disbelief as he shook his head at what just happened, pointing his finger at her accusingly.
"And you're still hard," she teasingly copied his actions by wiggling her pointer finger in front of his face, her eyes flickering down to his groin area and then back up to his face, "So, why don't you go take care of that...and I'll wait here until you're ready for my interview."
George opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it and simply shook his head. He turned around to walk towards the bathroom when he heard her call out, "Lock the door this time, carrot crotch."
He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face her once again. It took everything in him to stop his lips from letting a laugh slip through them, a foreign feeling to the boy who hadn't properly laughed since he was by Fred's side. He walked towards her and placed his hands on either side of the countertop next to her legs, trapping her in her spot and bringing his face level to hers.
"What did you just call me?" He spoke lowly as the left side of his mouth curved upwards unwillingly.
She narrowed her eyes challengingly and crossed her arms over her chest again, bringing her face forward until it was a mere breath away from his, "You heard me."
"And why were you looking?" He smirked, his voice dipping down an octave, "Like what you see, yeah?"
Clover puffed her chest in defiance, refusing to admit the fact that she did indeed like what she saw. George, in her mind, was a good-looking bloke and there was no and, ifs, or buts about it. George Weasley was fit, but of course she would never actually admit that to him. Especially since he had Angelina wrapped around him just moments ago.
"Don't flatter yourself, carrot crotch," she winked at him and moved her head back ever-so-slightly after realizing how close he was to her, "I quite like that nickname, don't know why your girlfriend doesn't call you that instead."
"Angelina's not my girlfriend," Clover noticed immediately a tensing in his tone and watched as his eyes shifted uneasily, "She's a good friend."
"Sure didn't look like a friend to me," she teased him, hoping to shift the mood away from uncomfortable territory.
George rolled his eyes as Clover was about to speak again, but her mouth shut when he cut her off with concern dripping in his voice, "Oi, why's your head bleeding?"
The door to the shop rung open while Clover was running a hand through her hair, bringing it down to her eye-level to see that it was now covered in a crimson substance. She normally was fine when seeing blood, just having to close her eyes and look away once it got too much for her. And she would've been fine since she knew it was simply from scraping her head this morning. That was until her eyes locked on the boy that walked into the store.
"Georgie, Ang, my eyes are closed," the boy playfully shouted out with a laugh, before slowing removing his hands from over his eyes, "If I open them and you guys are shagging on the shelf again I'll-,"
The boy stopped mid-sentence when he looked over to see the familiar blonde girl staring at him with wide eyes and a paled complexion. He recognized her immediately even though he still didn't know her name. How could he not? How could he not remember the girl who he held together when she found her sister laying dead on the floor? He'd recognize those eyes anywhere; pained and raw.
She stared at him, she couldn't stop staring at him. Her mind was in a frenzied state, memories from that night screaming at her as her eyes flickered down to the blood on her hand.
Red. That underneaths of the stones were red as she frantically tried to push the remnants of the collapsed wall off of her sister. She ignored it, even though that's when she knew. The stones were red. Blood.
Clover's body began to tremble as silence continued to fill the shop, all eyes on her. She wanted to stop thinking, she wanted to stop shaking, but she couldn't . She was too weak, too vulnerable as she looked between the familiar boy and the blood on her hand. This seemed to click another memory into the forefront of her mind.
Too weak. That's all she remembered feeling when she couldn't get the stones off of her sister. Linny was under there, she was right there. But she couldn't get to her. Her lungs were filled with dust and her body felt limp. She couldn't get her sister out. She was too weak.
"Clover? You okay?"
George's voice snapped her out of the last thought she was in, but she still couldn't move from her spot. Clover was petrified with fear, the terrorizing scream of her sister going off in her head again as she looked at the boy in front of her. She felt small and fragile and scared under the boy's stare, as if the war had happened just yesterday. And in this moment, it felt exactly like that. Because the boy was standing right in front of her.
The boy. She couldn't give up trying to get Linny out from under the rubble, but her body was about to give in. She couldn't do this alone. And that's when Clover looked up and saw the boy. His eyes were sad, too sad to help her. But then there he was, standing right next to her pushing the rock off of Linny. And there he was, his arms holding her together when she realized. Linny was dead.
At this point, her breaths were as shaky as her body. She felt like his eyes were stealing the air out of her body and the hands that were once wrapped around her torso were now squeezing her neck. Clover knew this feeling, and she knew her body. If she didn't get this under control, she was going to plunge into a pit of darkness. And she didn't want to do this here, not when she always did it by herself.
She abruptly ripped her eyes away from the familiar boy and looked over at George, his soothing and concerned stare knocking enough sense back into he that she was able to form a singular word, "B-bathroom?"
"Clover, what's going on?" He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away from his touch.
She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the pity and disappointment on his face, "P-please, w-where's the b-bathroom."
"Straight to the back," he quickly told her as worry and confusion stirred up inside of him. George wanted to reach out and help her just like she had done for him that first time they met, but he didn't know how to do that. He didn't even know what was happening. His eyes flickered between his best friend and Clover with only one question in his head: What do Clover and Lee Jordan have to do with each other?
Clover turned around and began running, not walking, but running towards the back of the shop. Her chest twisted when she heard the familiar boy's voice call out for her to wait, but she couldn't do this right now. She needed to get out. Her hand grabbed the door handle and tried to open it, having no luck while doing so. Her heartbeat tripled when she came to the realization that it was locked, and even more so when she heard footsteps coming towards her.
She closed her eyes when the body got close to her and she slid her back down the door in panic. Clover fell to the ground with images of Linny lying lifeless on the floor bringing her closer to a place of no return. Linny, I tried. I tried so hard to save you, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry. It should've been me, it should've-
Arms were wrapped around her body and pulling her in, holding her as tight as he did the first time. But she didn't want the boy to hold her again, she didn't want the boy to have to had held her at all. She wanted her sister.
"I tried to s-save her," she mumbled into the boy's chest, too frazzled to cry, "I c-couldn't do it. I l-let her die. I couldn't s-save her."
"You did all you could," he held her close to her and ran his hand soothingly through her hair, "Just let it out, I'm sorry I did this. I'm here, just let it out."
She didn't want to let it out, but at this point she had no other choice. Clover knew she needed to calm down and she knew that the boy was only here to help, so she gave in. She let her head fall into him and her body tremble in his arms. And for what seemed like an eternity, he just sat there breathing with her, once again not caring for a second that this girl was still a stranger. That didn't matter to him, not when she still looked as broken as she did the first time he saw her.
In reality it was only fifteen minutes that they sat there against the front of the bathroom door. And once she caught her breath again, Clover was the first one to pull apart and stand up, Lee following after her. They stood there silently for a moment, not sure how to even start a conversation with each other.
"Where's George?" Clover broke the silence softly, her eyes still glued to her feet out of distrust to her own emotions.
Lee shifted on his feet after sensing her unease, "I sent him out, even though the bloody git tried to fight me on it. He wanted to come and find you, but I reckon he doesn't know about your sister based off of your reaction?"
Clover's eyes snapped up to meet his now, her voice coming out slow and hesitant, "No, he doesn't."
Lee took a step closer to her and placed an arm on her shoulder. Clover tensed at the touch, but eventually relaxed as he spoke again, "And I'm assuming you'd like to keep it that way?"
"Yes, please," Clover immediately shot out to him before realizing she should probably explain herself, "I-I just don't like being pitied. And that's all people do when they find out."
Lee hesitated for a second, contemplating about what to say until he gently let out, "You know, George would be a great person to talk to about this. He practically went through the same-,"
"I would like to keep my work and personal life separate," she curtly said, not even letting him finish that suggestion. Clover didn't want to talk about it with anyone, it was too much. She never needed anyone before and that's something that still hasn't changed. But she couldn't help the immense sense of appreciation surging through her for the boy in front of her, "But thank you, truly."
"I won't tell anyone unless I have your blessing," the usually playful boy told her genuinely. He raised his hand towards her and replaced his serious face with a goofy smile, "Now if were done with that, I think it's time I actually know who you are. My name is Lee, Lee Jordan, and I would like to know why you're in my shop."
Clover quirked an eyebrow at his enthusiasm before following Lee back towards the front of the shop, "I'm Clover. I was supposed to have a job interview but it's been a bit...well, chaotic...here. And what do you mean your shop?"
The door rung open and George hesitantly stepped back into the store, walking up and hitting Lee in the back of the head as he answered her question, "I own it. George simply pays rent."
"You bloody liar. It's my shop, but Lee helps me run it now," George crossed his arms over his chest before looking between the two, ending with a slight glare at Lee, "Speaking of which, am I allowed back into my store now?"
"Oh don't get your knickers in a twist, carrot crotch," Clover wiggled her eyebrows at him as she teased him, all bad thoughts momentarily pushed to the back of her head.
Lee burst out into laughter and George rolled his eyes, shoving his friend lightly as he kept laughing, which in turn caused Lee to shove him back. George turned to face Lee with a mischievous smirk that Clover had never seen before on him, looking as if he were about to launch the two into a play fight. She chuckled under her breath at the sight and thanked Merlin that both of them seemed to easily forget about the situation that had just occurred. She felt free around the two boys in front of her, as if she finally got to act like the child she never got to be.
But just as Clover's lips turned into a smile, she watched George clear his throat and completely turn away from Lee. His facial expression dropped into one that was somber and shaken up, as if he had just seen a ghost. Lee simply sighed, looking like he was used to George's mood changes, while the ginger boy anxiously began scratching the back of his neck.
"So, the job?" Clover raised an eyebrow towards the two, hoping to take away from the sunken feeling that carried around the room.
George and Lee shared a knowing look with each other as they turned to Clover and simultaneously spoke, "When can you start?"
"Tomorrow?" She tried to contain her happiness over the fact that she once again was able to have a solid source of income. Maybe she would even be able to afford a cheap place to sleep in soon.
After agreeing with her suggestion, they began to go into detail about a schedule, her uniform, and everything else in between. By the end of the conversation, she was practically squealing with excitement at the wage they told her she would be earning per hour. Maybe this wasn't a big deal to some people, it's just a job, right? But to Clover, this meant everything. It meant money, it meant stability, it meant food, it meant everything she never had growing up.
"Thank you, sir!" She politely nodded as Lee handed her a paper copy of her schedule that they wrote up, the necessity of formality that she was taught to have for her superiors shining through. With that being said, she walked out of the shop with a smile on her face, a sight not often seen by the blonde-haired misery.
"She called you sir," George snorted while watching the flow of blonde hair exit the shop, his eyes trained on her as she left.
"She's fancy, Georgie," Lee nudged him back, studying how his taller friend was carefully watching the girl leave, before speaking with a knowing tone, "I like this one."
George couldn't help but think about the blonde girl as she left his sight. There was just something about her that was so magnetizing. She was this huge mystery to him, especially after seeing what happened today. Clover was bold and confident, yet crumbled so easily. She was witty and sarcastic, yet had this air of nobility when it came to being serious. George was curious, that's all, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
He couldn't help but let his answer slip out of his mouth, "Yeah, me too."
But of course as night came around and George's heart became lonely, he left all thoughts of the mystery that was Clover slip his mind and found himself intertwined with Angelina. Because this was his reality, Angelina was his reality. Without her, he would be nothing. She was his last string that kept him connected to Fred, and he needed that.
He needed Angelina.
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AUTHORS NOTE:
I know in the books it's Ron that helps George run the shop after the war, but in this story I made it Lee bc it just flows better in my opinion. Also, Lee Jordan Supremacy.
New OC introduced next chapter hehe!!! What do we think so far about Clover??