stardust ⋮ george weasley

thirty-two :

T H I R T Y - T W O

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Hogsmeade was the busiest Adeline had ever seen it. With all the Hogwarts students travelling down for one of their few Friday afternoons off along with all the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students wanting to experience the small wizarding village, every single store Adeline visited had been packed to the brim.

Finding a table at Three Broomsticks had been nearly impossible, but Melanie and Ophelia had managed to persuade a large group of fourth years to hurry up and finish their butterbeers so they could sit there instead.

Adeline was trying her best to distract herself with her friends and butterbeer, but the only thing on her mind was how the first task was only in a few short days. Two days, in fact. She still had no idea what to expect, given that the officials wouldn't give the champions any sort of clues. All she knew was that it was going to be dangerous, and the thought of that alone freaked Adeline out.

While her friends chatted around her, Adeline sipped quietly on her butterbeer, becoming dazed as thoughts of the Tournament ran through her mind that she didn't notice a certain someone slide into the open seat next to her.

"Well someone's certainly lost in thought," George grinned, catching Adeline by surprise when he poked her on the cheek. Across the table, Fred and Lee sat on the edges of the bench and began talking loudly with Estelle, Ophelia, and Melanie. "What's going through that big brain of yours, Addie?"

"Just the Tournament," Adeline sighed, going to take another sip out of her glass before realizing that the drink was empty. "It seemed like this far-off, distant thing and now it's only a couple of days. I don't think the true magnitude of the Tournament hit me until just now."

George's knee pressed up against Adeline's underneath the table. "You sound a little scared."

"Terrified," Adeline admitted quietly, not wanting anyone else in the pub to realize how afraid she was. "But I signed up for this, and I really want to do well."

"You are going to do amazing," George affirmed, feeling a little braver than usual as he reached out to Adeline's hand to give it a light squeeze. "That Goblet wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't good enough, Addie."

"You've always been too nice to me," Adeline grinned, resting her other hand on top of his. "I thought you would've been bitter that I took your rightful spot as the Hogwarts Champion."

"If I had been given more than a day, I would've easily gotten my name in that Goblet," George boasted loudly with such false confidence that it made Adeline giggle. "You'd be the one sitting here cheering me on."

"You know I'd cheer you on any day."

This comment caused George's cheeks to go a bright shade of pink, which Fred and Lee would have surely teased him for if they weren't in the middle of a heated discussion with Melanie about the odds of Hufflepuff beating Gryffindor when Quidditch next year.

The two quickly became immersed in a conversation about everything and anything in between, Adeline barely even noticing when a smirking Estelle had placed another glass of butterbeer in front of her. Later in the afternoon, George even braved wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him, which Adeline was very aware of but didn't mind in the slightest.

Adeline was reluctant to leave George at Three Broomsticks, but with Melanie insisting she wanted to get back to Hogwarts before it was dark, Adeline had to say goodbye and follow her friends out the pub door and back towards the castle.