- - chapter twenty four - -
the dead of night
The afternoon had reached a gloomy stage as the couple left the cemetery but George didn't want it to be that way, he knew that Fred would have never forgiven him if he had lived his life, constantly grieving. Especially when he had found someone that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, someone that made him happy, someone special. So, instead of returning her home where they wondered that her mother could be waiting, he decided that he was going to continue being vulnerable and open himself up a bit more with her. He didn't tell her where they were going, she assumed that they were going to Hogsmeade but when they apparated into a new street which she didn't recognise, she wondered what was going on. George put his wand into his back pocket and squeezed the hand that was holding onto her; her entire expression was confused as she glanced around at the empty street. "This isn't Hogsmeade."
"No, this is Diagon Alley."
"What are we doing here?" She questioned, her eyes furrowing as she tried to work out what they could be doing in this place when they had never been there before.
"You said that you wanted to see the shop, right?" He asked and she stared up at him, eyes shining in the streetlight then he turned her to face the shop that was at the end of the street and pointed. "Well, there it is."
Immediately, her eyes widened and she gasped at the shop. Out of everything that she could have imagined, this was beyond her expectations, the shop looked more magical and brighter than any other shop that she had ever seen and it was more vibrant than any other shop on the street. No wonder business was good for him, his shop was the only inviting one to go into. "Oh my God! This is amazing!"
The red painted building was just what Indigo had imagined and the statue above the door, looked remarkably like George, topping his hat to the customers and revealing a white rabbit underneath. The street was empty because it was later in the day and the shops were closed but Verity had kept her promise and had kept the shop open for the owner so that he could show off to his girlfriend. The window decorations were lit up, things inside whizzing around and advertising different offers that were on the products and Indigo felt like a kid on Christmas as George unlocked the door for her. Inside and the shop seemed ten times bigger than it did on the outside, there were rows of different products with things hanging from the ceilings and items that were basically jumping off the shelves for her to see. She didn't know what to look at first and George was more than happy to see her so excited, it was the same reaction that she had when visiting Hogsmeade for the first time but this felt more personal because this was his shop.
"So, this is your shop?" Indigo asked as George locked the door behind them and she read the sign that was above the counter. "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"
"Like the name?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, coming to stand beside her and they both stood in the centre of the shop, looking at the wonders that were on offer.
"Good use of alliteration."
George took a deep breath, watching her take everything in before asking something that he dreaded the answer to. "What do you think?"
"This place is incredible. Like seriously amazing. I don't even know what to look at first." She admitted before suddenly coming to the realisation that she didn't know what was being sold in this shop. She could see the different products but none of it made any sense to her as a muggle, she wondered what the shop sold. "What do you sell?"
"It's a joke shop, sort of like Zonko's but better, obviously. We were even thinking of buying a place in Hogsmeade, expanding with our business."
"That's a good idea. I assume these products are very popular with students?"
George paused for a second, thinking about his years in Hogwarts and the fun that he got up to with pranks that he pulled with his brother. He felt upset for a moment but then shook himself out of the daydream and smiled at her, knowing that she didn't ask the question simply because she was reminding him of Hogwarts. She didn't know about the memories that he made with his brother; he hadn't told her. "Of course, Fred and I tested all of them in school ourselves. Filch hated us."
Just when he was about to tell her a story about one of the pranks, Indigo spotted something colourful in the corner of the shop and headed over to investigate. There was a cage full of little pink and purple balls of fluff that were squeaking loudly to each other. She awed at them, thinking that they were adorable but had no idea what they were. "Wow, what are these?"
"Pygmy Puffs." George answered, leaning over the cage and looking inside. He noticed that she was watching them fondly and decided that whatever she wanted from the shop, she could take, no charge. "They sell out so fast, want to take one home?"
"I don't think Basil would appreciate a house guest."
"He got used to me."
"You were an exception." Indigo replied, her eyes scanning the shelves until she landed on a very pink and girly display. She almost choked on laughter when she read the sign and realised what they were. "Love potions? Were you really that unlucky in school that you had to create one of these?"
"Haha, they weren't for me. I was fine with dating in school, these were inspired by Ron. He was the brother who needed help in that department."
"Well, he seems to be doing fine now, with Hermione, I mean." George shrugged and chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, but he was stuck in the friendzone for about six years. Trust me, he needed something like this."
"Okay, what on earth is a Rubby O'Chicken?" Indigo wondered, looking at the row of products that she didn't understand; wanting him to explain every single item that he sold.
"It's exactly what you think, a rubber chicken that Irish dances."
"Oh yes, exactly what I was imagining." She laughed, taking one off the shelf to admire and then put it straight back. Her eyes became fixed on a dark door behind the counter. "What's behind that door?" George followed her line of sight and smiled to himself. "That, my love, is where the magic happens. The door that leads to my flat. You want to take a look around?" His tone becomes softer and Indigo nods, taking his hand because she was nervous about what she was agreeing to but wanted to go through with it because it felt right.
They get to the top of the stairs, both of them taking a deep breath because this was a massive step in their relationship and once, they went through with this; then there was no going back. George could tell that she was nervous, possibly even more nervous than he was and he leaned down; pressing his lips against hers to calm her down. Indigo's heart was hammering against her chest, she pushed her body against his and kissed him back harder, showing him that she was ready for what they were going to do. Her hands reach up and comb through his red hair, grasping at the ends and making him moan into her mouth. If he had realised how good this felt then he would have kissed her like this a million times before, but at the same time he was glad that they hadn't rushed into anything. George flicked his wand and opened the front door to his flat, they stepped inside but pulled apart when someone cleared their throat, not too happy about the couple making out in front of them. "So, it is true? You really are running around with some dirty squib?"
"Angelina, what are you doing here?" George asked angrily, not happy that his ex-girlfriend was waiting for him in his home and definitely not happy that she was saying things about his current girlfriend, especially when she was right next to him.
"I thought I'd pop over and see how you were doing, obviously you forgot about our plans."
"Plans? I don't have any plans with you, I haven't seen you in months."
Angelina narrowed her eyes at him, playing the game because there was no way that she was going to lose her handsome, wealthy boyfriend to some squib, who didn't even deserve to know about the magical world. "Why are you lying, George? To come across as the victim in front of your rat?"
"Don't talk to her like that." He seethed, keeping his arm across Indigo so that she wasn't involved in this mess but she wasn't deaf and she wanted to know what was going on.
"George, who is this?" Indigo asked, looking up at her boyfriend, pleading for him to be honest with her because she hated confrontation and spending time with him, usually got her away from instances like this.
"She doesn't know who I am? How much have you told her?" Angelina snapped but George didn't say anything and she took the chance to lie, just to get what she wanted. "I'm his girlfriend, slut, so go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and don't come near us again."
"Is this true?"
"No!" George said quickly, leaning down to look at his girlfriend and he tried to take her hands but she just shrugged him off; he pleaded with her. "Indie, why an earth would I be lying to you?"
"You had a girlfriend this whole time? This meant nothing to you?"
Angelina decided to give one more push to end their relationship, knowing that she was going to get what she wanted. "You mean nothing to him. Every time he was flirting with you in your pathetic little shop, he was coming home to me. He will always be coming home to me."
"I have to go..." Indigo trailed off, turning around and heading back down the stairs but George wasn't giving up and raced after her. "Indie! Wait, please! Indigo!" His long legs allowed him to catch up to her and grabbed her arm. "Listen to me!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "I think I've done enough listening."
George frowned, looking like a lost puppy as she spat at him. "Why don't you trust me?"
"Mum warned me about you. She told me that you were using me and that you were going to break my heart, I guess I should have listened to her." She said before wrapping her arms around herself and heading down the empty street, alone.
a/n: so, after taking a break from writing to work out what i want to do - i'm back!🥳 i started writing the first part of my new book today & i'm super excited about it 🥰 right now, i'm not sure when it'll be published but i'll try to keep u updated 💓 -lizzie ⭐️
date published: 25/09/21