RP: It's been a while - sorry I haven't kept in touch
Date: 19 February 1998
Character(s): Verity Harrison and George Weasley
Location: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Status: Private
Summary: Verity goes to see an old friend.
Completion: InComplete
Verity let herself into Diagon Alley from the alley behind the Leaky. She'd been staying there for nearly a week, and while the hospitality was better than in some places she'd stayed since she was away, it really was time to find a job. So she had a passing chance of affording to live someplace that was slightly homier than a room with a bed and a dresser.
She had a clipping from the Prophets classifieds she'd cut out over breakfast that morning. She looked down at it now to get the address for the first place--a waitressing job--and realized that it was awfully close to the Wheezes. She'd done a pretty good job of avoiding it completely so far, and thought about skipping over that particular job inquiry altogether.
But then she sighed and started walking. She was going to have to do it eventually, it wasn't fair to George to let him wonder what had happened to her. If in fact he did that at all. It was time to put on her big girl knickers and just do it. She walked slowly, growing more nervous with every step she took. By the time she was standing in front of the shop she was ready to turn around and run straight back to the leaky. "Coward," she scolded herself. Biting her lip, she pulled open the door and walked inside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Post a new comment)
la_george
2008-02-20 03:12 am UTC (link)
George was supposed to be working on the catalog. He'd finished up another bunch of Decoy Detonators this morning and hadn't managed to blow off any additional body parts, which was actually kind of disappointing. Still they hadn't had enough gunpowder left over to make any more Whiz-Bangs.
The half-hearted shopping list he was fiddling with had turned into random ideas for a catalog, a few doodles and half a tic-tac-toe game. The morning had netting a total of three visitors - two Ministry employees looking for Skiving Snack Boxes and one old lady who insisted that, given the name of the store, he simply had to sell respiratory aids. George had been terribly tempted to give her a package of the Never-Full Balloons, but she'd looked kind of like his Aunt Tessie and he wasn't really mean at heart.
When the air-horn went off he looked up, wondering if perhaps he was about to be beset by someone collecting taxes. Instead, a pretty blond girl walked into the shop looking oddly nervous. It took George about 45 seconds to recognize her, the hair a bit longer, the smile missing....
"Oh my, God!" George was out from behind the counter and had her in his arms, spinning her in a circle, in less time than it took to say the words. "Verity. Thank Merlin!"
(Reply to this)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 03:57 am UTC (link)
George had just sort of looked at her, like he didn't know who she was. Maybe he'd forgotten her. But that didn't seem very likely, she'd worked for him for a year. Maybe Fred's death had drove him 'round the bend and his family made him go about his daily life hoping to spark a bit of mental clarity. That seemed a bit more plausible, as they had been thick as thieves, but she figured there would be at least one other Weasley there to keep an eye on him.
Or perhaps he was just ignoring her. That seemed the most likely option. But then he was out from behind the counter so fast that Verity was a bit surprised to find herself off her feet and being spun around. "I missed you too," she squealed, squeezing him back.
She grinned at him once he'd put her down, and gave him a good look over. He looked good, if a bit thinner than usual. "I'm sorry about running off without word," she told him. "I didn't put you in a bind, did I?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 04:46 am UTC (link)
George set her down, looked her over, and hugged her again. "Bind, schmind, I'm just glad you're alright. You are, yeah?"
George let her go and turned in a circle, indicating the entire shop with the sweep of his arm. "This, fabulous place....is likely not as fabulous as it once was, but it's still standing. What are you up to? How have you been?"
He summoned a color-changing lolly and pointed it at her. "Tell me everything or I'll be forced to make you plaid."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 05:11 am UTC (link)
"Yeah, I'm great," she said, waving her hand dismissively. She'd gotten a whole lot luckier than a lot of the Muggle-borns. At least she'd found someplace safe and warm to stay.
She looked around the shop, it still looked pretty fabulous to her. Little emptier than she remembered, but not a goat in sight. "I'm just glad to see it is still standing. It looks a mess out there." She laughed and put her hands up in front or her face pretending to ward him off when he pointed a lolly at her and demanded she tell him every thing. "Nooo! Not the colour-changing lollies. Okay I submit."
She put her hands down and grinned at him. God she was relieved to see him in such good spirits. "Well, I got my invite to attend the Muggle-born Registration Committee's interview and didn't really feel the need to explain myself. So I packed up and went to Ireland. I wanted to tell you, but I thought it would be best if you didn't know, in case they came looking for me. Anyway, I traveled around for a while, and then one day I met an old witch who offered to let me stay the night at her place if I milked her goats for her. I thought, 'what the hell, how many can there be?'"
She chuckled and spread her arms wide. "There were dozens of the damned things. I thought my hands were going to fall off before I was finished. But she was nice and said I did a good job, and I could stay if I helped her out. So that's where I've been. In Ireland, milking goats and getting pissed down at the pub."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 05:50 am UTC (link)
"Goats. You left us.... for goats." George raised an eyebrow and ushered her toward the counter. "Sit." He demonstrated the theory by hopping onto the counter. "Did you bring me goat cheese? Milk? A sweater of some sort?"
He handed her the lolli and smiled. "We have some great hand cream if you have udderly terrible callouses."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 06:22 am UTC (link)
"Yeah," she said, hopping up onto the counter next to him. "Goats. Ruddy stubborn they are too, and you can't turn your back on 'em for a moment or they'll start chewing on your shirt, or peeing on your shoes. Really, it was like I'd barely left at all."
She took the lolli and started playing with the wrapper. "That was awful, George," she told him, nudging him with her shoulder. "I'm glad to be back though, I missed you lot. How's everyone doing?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 06:30 am UTC (link)
"If there is goat pee on your shoes please remove them from my counter," he said, as serious as he could manage, which wasn't very. He was so very happy to see her. Alive. "Couldn't help it. I was only kidding after all." He was going to get smacked, but she'd known him long enough to expect nothing less. "And we only chewed on your shirt that one time."
The question about everyone was rather more tricky. He shrugged. "We're... alright. Brought a bunch of my favorite strays home with me four months ago" today "and most of them have stayed. Katie Bell moved back to Hogwarts for NEWT boot camp, but Lee, Angelina, Oliver and Alicia are still here. We're all sharing the one bedroom." He nudged her. "Most chaste orgy-bed in the world. It's rather appalling, actually."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 06:48 am UTC (link)
"Awe, Georgie, and here I thought you liked me enough to let me contaminate the counter." She gave him a mock pout which quickly turned into a grin. "I threw those shoes in the River Shannon before I left. I'm thinking your goat jokes should join them."
She wasn't really surprised to hear that all of his friends had moved in, as they had always been a tight-knit group and it made sense that they'd band together when he needed them. The part about sleeping in the same bed got her curious. "Really, hows that work? Did you have to use a lot of charms to make the bed big enough? No one ever pushes anyone else out accidentally? Lee and Oliver don't wake up cuddling in the middle of the night and get all weirded out? Anyone snore?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 06:58 am UTC (link)
George lay his head on her shoulder and batted his eyelashes up at her. "You don't like my jokes? Wounded, I am." It was terribly good to see her again.
"Dunno how it works exactly. When we came home after," and suddenly his voice was flat, "the battle no one could stand to be alone. I cast a charm at the bed, don't even remember thinking about it, and it expanded 'til it filled the room. We all just crawled in and held each other." He'd not thought of it in a long while, of how much he'd needed them, how much they'd all needed each other. Especially those first weeks.
He shook his head slightly, regaining his composure and the normal lilt in his voice. "Oliver snores. Angelina is a cover hog. Al likes to sneak out of bed at unearthly hours to go running. Katie's cat had developed a fascination with my pants before the thing departed with her. Good thing, too, as I was contemplating a fur pillow. As to cuddling, Oliver had better keep his meat hooks off Lee."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 07:44 am UTC (link)
"I love your jokes," she told him, reaching up to pat the side of his face. "But admit it, those were lame."
She listened quietly as he talked, reaching over to squeeze his arm when his tone changed. She had so many questions about Fred. She'd only learned of his death because she'd seen a notice in the paper. It had seemed obscene to her, really, that someone so large as life as he'd been had been summed up in a few lines of print. She knew better than to ask them, though. Some things you just didn't push.
That bit about Lee? That she was definitely asking about. "Sound a little possessive there. Is there a reason for that?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-21 06:45 am UTC (link)
George shrugged, not taking his head from her shoulder. "Yeah, you have me there. They were lame - but I couldn't resist being a bit cheesy, milking it for all it was worth." He raised his head and put his hands up. "No seriously, I'm done now."
He knew what she was thinking, whom she was thinking of. George couldn't set foot in the store without being surrounded by the feeling of wrongness, that Fred wasn't here. He missed him every time he looked in a mirror, every time something wonderful happened, or something awful, or something completely boring. Fred was... but they could leave that for a while.
"Just a bit," George said, shifting so that he was facing her. "Tripped one day and fell head over heels in love. I know, last thing anyone would expect of me, and with my best friend no less. Not giving him back, either."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-23 07:48 am UTC (link)
So there was a reason for the possessiveness, even better. Grinning, Verity leaned forward to wrap him in a hug. "That's brilliant, George! Merlin no, you shouldn't give him back." She pulled away, still grinning at him. "If you were going to fall head over heels in love, I reckon doing it with your best friend was a wise choice. But you know me, I'm just a big sappy romantic at heart."
She didn't know why she had drug her feet about coming here. It felt so good to be sitting on the counter at the WWW again, chatting with George. Almost normal even. "So what else did I miss? Anyone else pair off while I was away?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-23 07:39 pm UTC (link)
George hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "It is rather brilliant. Started out as a joke, of course, and then just..." He likely had a sappy grin on his face, but that was alright. He let her go and reached out to tug on her hair. "Believe it or not Percy is dating Angelina, although they are both hemming and hawing about whether or not to call it dating. Percy's become one of my best friends - which was also unexpected. As far as I know no one else's paired up - Al still loves to flirt, Oliver is still Oliver, and Katie has too many to choose from. She's off at Hogwarts doing NEWTS."
Merlin it was good to see her. It felt like he'd seen her just yesterday, and like it had been a million years. "So, when are you coming back? Saw the sign in the window didn't you? I really am not at all above begging." So saying he put on his best puppy-dog face and batted his eyelashes at her. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeasssssssssssse?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-23 09:46 pm UTC (link)
Started out as a joke? That sounded completely appropriate for the two of them. And Percy was back? That was wonderful news, as well. She was glad to hear that the two of them had mended fences. She wondered how Percy felt about Angelina sleeping in the most chaste orgy bed in the world. She didn't really know him, but he'd always seemed so uptight to her. But maybe he'd relaxed a bit.
Her eyes widened when George asked her when she was coming back. She never would have asked herself, not wanting to put him n a position where he had to tell her no, but she would have been lying if she said she hadn't been hoping he'd offer.
"No begging required," she said excitedly. "Today, tomorrow? How about this Saturday. It'll give me time to find a flat." Squealing, she hugged him again. "Thank you, I missed this place so much!"
Character(s): Verity Harrison and George Weasley
Location: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Status: Private
Summary: Verity goes to see an old friend.
Completion: InComplete
Verity let herself into Diagon Alley from the alley behind the Leaky. She'd been staying there for nearly a week, and while the hospitality was better than in some places she'd stayed since she was away, it really was time to find a job. So she had a passing chance of affording to live someplace that was slightly homier than a room with a bed and a dresser.
She had a clipping from the Prophets classifieds she'd cut out over breakfast that morning. She looked down at it now to get the address for the first place--a waitressing job--and realized that it was awfully close to the Wheezes. She'd done a pretty good job of avoiding it completely so far, and thought about skipping over that particular job inquiry altogether.
But then she sighed and started walking. She was going to have to do it eventually, it wasn't fair to George to let him wonder what had happened to her. If in fact he did that at all. It was time to put on her big girl knickers and just do it. She walked slowly, growing more nervous with every step she took. By the time she was standing in front of the shop she was ready to turn around and run straight back to the leaky. "Coward," she scolded herself. Biting her lip, she pulled open the door and walked inside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Post a new comment)
la_george
2008-02-20 03:12 am UTC (link)
George was supposed to be working on the catalog. He'd finished up another bunch of Decoy Detonators this morning and hadn't managed to blow off any additional body parts, which was actually kind of disappointing. Still they hadn't had enough gunpowder left over to make any more Whiz-Bangs.
The half-hearted shopping list he was fiddling with had turned into random ideas for a catalog, a few doodles and half a tic-tac-toe game. The morning had netting a total of three visitors - two Ministry employees looking for Skiving Snack Boxes and one old lady who insisted that, given the name of the store, he simply had to sell respiratory aids. George had been terribly tempted to give her a package of the Never-Full Balloons, but she'd looked kind of like his Aunt Tessie and he wasn't really mean at heart.
When the air-horn went off he looked up, wondering if perhaps he was about to be beset by someone collecting taxes. Instead, a pretty blond girl walked into the shop looking oddly nervous. It took George about 45 seconds to recognize her, the hair a bit longer, the smile missing....
"Oh my, God!" George was out from behind the counter and had her in his arms, spinning her in a circle, in less time than it took to say the words. "Verity. Thank Merlin!"
(Reply to this)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 03:57 am UTC (link)
George had just sort of looked at her, like he didn't know who she was. Maybe he'd forgotten her. But that didn't seem very likely, she'd worked for him for a year. Maybe Fred's death had drove him 'round the bend and his family made him go about his daily life hoping to spark a bit of mental clarity. That seemed a bit more plausible, as they had been thick as thieves, but she figured there would be at least one other Weasley there to keep an eye on him.
Or perhaps he was just ignoring her. That seemed the most likely option. But then he was out from behind the counter so fast that Verity was a bit surprised to find herself off her feet and being spun around. "I missed you too," she squealed, squeezing him back.
She grinned at him once he'd put her down, and gave him a good look over. He looked good, if a bit thinner than usual. "I'm sorry about running off without word," she told him. "I didn't put you in a bind, did I?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 04:46 am UTC (link)
George set her down, looked her over, and hugged her again. "Bind, schmind, I'm just glad you're alright. You are, yeah?"
George let her go and turned in a circle, indicating the entire shop with the sweep of his arm. "This, fabulous place....is likely not as fabulous as it once was, but it's still standing. What are you up to? How have you been?"
He summoned a color-changing lolly and pointed it at her. "Tell me everything or I'll be forced to make you plaid."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 05:11 am UTC (link)
"Yeah, I'm great," she said, waving her hand dismissively. She'd gotten a whole lot luckier than a lot of the Muggle-borns. At least she'd found someplace safe and warm to stay.
She looked around the shop, it still looked pretty fabulous to her. Little emptier than she remembered, but not a goat in sight. "I'm just glad to see it is still standing. It looks a mess out there." She laughed and put her hands up in front or her face pretending to ward him off when he pointed a lolly at her and demanded she tell him every thing. "Nooo! Not the colour-changing lollies. Okay I submit."
She put her hands down and grinned at him. God she was relieved to see him in such good spirits. "Well, I got my invite to attend the Muggle-born Registration Committee's interview and didn't really feel the need to explain myself. So I packed up and went to Ireland. I wanted to tell you, but I thought it would be best if you didn't know, in case they came looking for me. Anyway, I traveled around for a while, and then one day I met an old witch who offered to let me stay the night at her place if I milked her goats for her. I thought, 'what the hell, how many can there be?'"
She chuckled and spread her arms wide. "There were dozens of the damned things. I thought my hands were going to fall off before I was finished. But she was nice and said I did a good job, and I could stay if I helped her out. So that's where I've been. In Ireland, milking goats and getting pissed down at the pub."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 05:50 am UTC (link)
"Goats. You left us.... for goats." George raised an eyebrow and ushered her toward the counter. "Sit." He demonstrated the theory by hopping onto the counter. "Did you bring me goat cheese? Milk? A sweater of some sort?"
He handed her the lolli and smiled. "We have some great hand cream if you have udderly terrible callouses."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 06:22 am UTC (link)
"Yeah," she said, hopping up onto the counter next to him. "Goats. Ruddy stubborn they are too, and you can't turn your back on 'em for a moment or they'll start chewing on your shirt, or peeing on your shoes. Really, it was like I'd barely left at all."
She took the lolli and started playing with the wrapper. "That was awful, George," she told him, nudging him with her shoulder. "I'm glad to be back though, I missed you lot. How's everyone doing?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 06:30 am UTC (link)
"If there is goat pee on your shoes please remove them from my counter," he said, as serious as he could manage, which wasn't very. He was so very happy to see her. Alive. "Couldn't help it. I was only kidding after all." He was going to get smacked, but she'd known him long enough to expect nothing less. "And we only chewed on your shirt that one time."
The question about everyone was rather more tricky. He shrugged. "We're... alright. Brought a bunch of my favorite strays home with me four months ago" today "and most of them have stayed. Katie Bell moved back to Hogwarts for NEWT boot camp, but Lee, Angelina, Oliver and Alicia are still here. We're all sharing the one bedroom." He nudged her. "Most chaste orgy-bed in the world. It's rather appalling, actually."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 06:48 am UTC (link)
"Awe, Georgie, and here I thought you liked me enough to let me contaminate the counter." She gave him a mock pout which quickly turned into a grin. "I threw those shoes in the River Shannon before I left. I'm thinking your goat jokes should join them."
She wasn't really surprised to hear that all of his friends had moved in, as they had always been a tight-knit group and it made sense that they'd band together when he needed them. The part about sleeping in the same bed got her curious. "Really, hows that work? Did you have to use a lot of charms to make the bed big enough? No one ever pushes anyone else out accidentally? Lee and Oliver don't wake up cuddling in the middle of the night and get all weirded out? Anyone snore?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-20 06:58 am UTC (link)
George lay his head on her shoulder and batted his eyelashes up at her. "You don't like my jokes? Wounded, I am." It was terribly good to see her again.
"Dunno how it works exactly. When we came home after," and suddenly his voice was flat, "the battle no one could stand to be alone. I cast a charm at the bed, don't even remember thinking about it, and it expanded 'til it filled the room. We all just crawled in and held each other." He'd not thought of it in a long while, of how much he'd needed them, how much they'd all needed each other. Especially those first weeks.
He shook his head slightly, regaining his composure and the normal lilt in his voice. "Oliver snores. Angelina is a cover hog. Al likes to sneak out of bed at unearthly hours to go running. Katie's cat had developed a fascination with my pants before the thing departed with her. Good thing, too, as I was contemplating a fur pillow. As to cuddling, Oliver had better keep his meat hooks off Lee."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-20 07:44 am UTC (link)
"I love your jokes," she told him, reaching up to pat the side of his face. "But admit it, those were lame."
She listened quietly as he talked, reaching over to squeeze his arm when his tone changed. She had so many questions about Fred. She'd only learned of his death because she'd seen a notice in the paper. It had seemed obscene to her, really, that someone so large as life as he'd been had been summed up in a few lines of print. She knew better than to ask them, though. Some things you just didn't push.
That bit about Lee? That she was definitely asking about. "Sound a little possessive there. Is there a reason for that?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-21 06:45 am UTC (link)
George shrugged, not taking his head from her shoulder. "Yeah, you have me there. They were lame - but I couldn't resist being a bit cheesy, milking it for all it was worth." He raised his head and put his hands up. "No seriously, I'm done now."
He knew what she was thinking, whom she was thinking of. George couldn't set foot in the store without being surrounded by the feeling of wrongness, that Fred wasn't here. He missed him every time he looked in a mirror, every time something wonderful happened, or something awful, or something completely boring. Fred was... but they could leave that for a while.
"Just a bit," George said, shifting so that he was facing her. "Tripped one day and fell head over heels in love. I know, last thing anyone would expect of me, and with my best friend no less. Not giving him back, either."
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-23 07:48 am UTC (link)
So there was a reason for the possessiveness, even better. Grinning, Verity leaned forward to wrap him in a hug. "That's brilliant, George! Merlin no, you shouldn't give him back." She pulled away, still grinning at him. "If you were going to fall head over heels in love, I reckon doing it with your best friend was a wise choice. But you know me, I'm just a big sappy romantic at heart."
She didn't know why she had drug her feet about coming here. It felt so good to be sitting on the counter at the WWW again, chatting with George. Almost normal even. "So what else did I miss? Anyone else pair off while I was away?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_george
2008-02-23 07:39 pm UTC (link)
George hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "It is rather brilliant. Started out as a joke, of course, and then just..." He likely had a sappy grin on his face, but that was alright. He let her go and reached out to tug on her hair. "Believe it or not Percy is dating Angelina, although they are both hemming and hawing about whether or not to call it dating. Percy's become one of my best friends - which was also unexpected. As far as I know no one else's paired up - Al still loves to flirt, Oliver is still Oliver, and Katie has too many to choose from. She's off at Hogwarts doing NEWTS."
Merlin it was good to see her. It felt like he'd seen her just yesterday, and like it had been a million years. "So, when are you coming back? Saw the sign in the window didn't you? I really am not at all above begging." So saying he put on his best puppy-dog face and batted his eyelashes at her. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeasssssssssssse?"
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
la_verity
2008-02-23 09:46 pm UTC (link)
Started out as a joke? That sounded completely appropriate for the two of them. And Percy was back? That was wonderful news, as well. She was glad to hear that the two of them had mended fences. She wondered how Percy felt about Angelina sleeping in the most chaste orgy bed in the world. She didn't really know him, but he'd always seemed so uptight to her. But maybe he'd relaxed a bit.
Her eyes widened when George asked her when she was coming back. She never would have asked herself, not wanting to put him n a position where he had to tell her no, but she would have been lying if she said she hadn't been hoping he'd offer.
"No begging required," she said excitedly. "Today, tomorrow? How about this Saturday. It'll give me time to find a flat." Squealing, she hugged him again. "Thank you, I missed this place so much!"