Chapter Text
- George notices how the wooden boards get removed from the windows of this empty store on the opposite side of his Joke Shop
- And the windows are cleaned and workers enter
- He’s curious but for now nothing of the current actions give off a hint of what shop this would be
- He finds out two weeks later when walking past the large window displays, peeking into the store to find furniture that’d tell him that there was going to be a bookstore
- One day he sees the sign being hung up, “Book H(e)aven”
- And he laughs, throws his head back; because somehow he finds it too funny - for no reason actually
- It startles his subordinates because he hasn’t laughed like that for months after Fred’s death
- With his interest sparked, he makes sure to pay the store a visit as soon as it opens
- The bell tinkles softly when he enters and for a moment he’s just overwhelmed with the amount of books that are displayed in countless bookshelves and on tables
- ToO MaNy boOKS
- The stacks are neat and organized and he finds himself studying all the signs that would tell him where what kind of genre was located
- There’s the smell of freshly printed books and ink on new paper and it’s pleasant and he likes how the light is perfect regulated; likes how the ambience is
- It’s comfy cocoon, a safe place
- George sees small parchment snippets with book recommendations, all in neat handwriting
- Floating books in displays
- and summaries formulated in perfect word choosing
- flying origami birds with excerpts
- ready to enchant and lead everyone into a complete different world
- There are comfy seats for those who want to read several extracts
- Distant smell of coffee and tea herbs
- Chattering people walking through the small, yet spacious looking store, discovering books and reading the names on the colorful book spines
- There are children excitedly talking about the newest books and elderly people standing in between the classics
- It’s a nice store, he mused until the crowd around you parts like in a cliché
- And his eyes fell upon you
- Breath hitching and increasing heart beat
- Because your beauty and the radiance of your smile takes his breath away
- George is intrigued
- He watches you politely talking to all of your customers, with a gentle smile on your lips and eyes so full of passion
- It reminded him of Fred who also had this fire in his hazel eyes when talking about the Joke Shop – the very fire that George was struggling to rediscover in himself
- “Hello, my name’s George and I am the Joker from the Shop on the other side,” hoping to coax another of your beautiful smiles; he gestured to the bright red façade of his own store.
- “It’s nice to meet you,” he winks
- “Really? I couldn’t tell. And here I thought that the giant red haired statue must be someone else,” your reply was cheeky, sarcastic and he liked the way your face stayed so calm and quiet
- He would’ve believed you if it wasn’t for your pretty eyes that held this mischievous glint
- George clearly is interested
- So he makes up excuses to come again just to see your face
- It’s chats over the counters while you’re packing up books for the customers; it’s him asking for a tour through the store even though he had been there countless times
- Book orders about Potions and Herbology and Beast – books that he’d need for studies
- he asks you out for dinner one day, finally mustering up the courage to do something else than just bringing coffee over
- and it’s the best evening ever, filled with so much jokes and laughs
- it’s also the day he finds out that you’re actually from his year, a Hufflepuff
- George instantly feels bad
- “Why didn’t you tell me?”
- “You didn’t seem to remember me, so I played along”
- “How could I not notice you? This gorgeous lady here. Must have been blind,” he winks
- “Dunno. But I am rather quiet and plain, always hiding behind a book, you know?”
- And the dates continue much to your surprise
- He takes you out for dinner again
- Strolls through the streets of Diagon Alley and London, discovering quiet corners and pretty cafés
- The Weasley acts as charming tour guide when you visit his store, tells you about the fun things and lets you try them out
- “Maybe I should mix some of these into your next coffee.”
- He chuckles in reply to your shocked face
- It’s a love potion, you realize
- “Don’t you dare doing that, Weasley.”
- George visits libraries and book fairs and prank fairs with you; carries the heavy bags without too much complaining
- He asks for book recommendations and deliberately reads all the things that you enjoy reading so he can have
- Book discussions with you
- Long and lengthy because he likes to sit down and talk, just talk to you while he studies the beautiful features of your face, carves in the little imperfections that he thinks are cute
- Did I also mention that he’d fanboy about some character with you too?
- George had never liked books before
- But now he liked the way the book weighed in his hands; loved the smell of fresh paper and the sound of rustling paper
- It reminded him of you
- Calm, sturdy and full of surprises
- And George falls in love; has already fallen for you the first day he set into this store
- He kisses you for the first time after months of dates and months of flirty remarks that you somehow brushed off like water resistant lacquer
- It’s closing time and the sky was swapping its pale blue colour against a darker shade; a shade that was sprinkled with luminous diamonds
- George has come over, bringing some Chinese Take Out that the two of you had always wanted to try
- You’re about to close the shop, pulling down several curtains and locking up the valuable things
- He leans down to kiss you over an open book, softly yet passionately with depth
- And at some point, you let the book fall somewhere – just free your hands
- So your fingers could dive into his red hair, so you could pull him closer to you
- He rests his forehead against yours and chuckles, his pretty and innocent looking doe eyes dancing in your view, drawing you into his magic
- George’s a charmer
- Arms wrapping around your waist and you placed one hand on his chest and the other on his face
- “George, I think I’ve fallen for you,” your confession is nothing more than a mumble, almost inaudible
- Cherry blossom cheeks and rosy lips
- “I really hope so. Or else this gesture would be kind of confusing,” he whispers against your lips,
- Brushing over them
- wanting to feel the contours of your lips against his for another time
- “But, I feel the same. I am head over heels for you.”
- You sigh, relieved and happy and he kisses you again in this dimly lit book store, shielded from other looks
- you keep your relationship a secret at first to keep the gossip down
- and it’s difficult, really
- to sneak out of his apartment in the morning and pretend that you had just come down from your own apartment
- because you can’t apparated into his apartment
- it’s a safety precaution of course
- so you gotta do it old style
- sometimes he pulls you into dark corners to steal soft kisses
- running away from people you know with giggles on your lips and suppressed laughter
- silly puns and tickling
- He’s like the book at the end of your day
- and you’re the match to his fireworks; the missing ingredient for the success of his inventions
- but it’s not like nobody had noticed
- the smile in George’s bright eyes, his lips not in a constant frown
- he enjoys resting his head in your lap, reading a book as you curl strands of his hair on your fingers
- loves how you lean down occasionally to give him a kiss on the forehead
- He’s the type to demand kisses on his cheek just so he can turn around in the last moment to snatch a full kiss from your mouth
- You blush slightly and he winks and chuckles
- And it’s a beautiful sight, your favorite melody