Beautiful Misbehaviour | George Weasley

Chapter 7

Artemis' stomach tugged painfully. She felt as though she was being squeezed through a tube of toothpaste. The feeling lasted only a moment, but the moment her feet were resting against solid ground, she stumbled and clutched at her stomach, her skin flaring with heat.

Hands grabbed at her shoulders.

All at once, her body went on alert as she took in her surroundings and made sense of the seconds leading up to the unexpected bout of inter-dimensional travel.

Artemis struggled with all her might, ripping her body from her assailant's clutches and falling to the ground in the process. Wet snow met her bottom as she stared up at a familiar face.

It took her a moment to understand. She simply stared up at George Weasley with wide eyes and chest heaving.

"Artemis?" His voice dipped in worry as he crouched and placed a hand on her jaw, "Are you alright?"

"I - " Artemis forced her eyes to blink, "I thought you were ... someone else."

George's face flickered from confusion to understanding, and he winced, "I'm sorry I - "

Relief hit her like a wave as the truth of the events hit her. Artemis lurched forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him fiercely. Her eyes burned behind her eyelids, and her chest stuttered out sharp breaths.

Warm hands came to rest on her back, branding her skin beneath her shirt, "It's alright, Artemis. You're safe. Everyone's safe."

Artemis shook her head against his neck, speaking softly, "That was awful."

He sighed out a breath softly, "Yeah, it was pretty shite."

Artemis was suddenly very aware of her knees and how wet and cold they were digging into the snow. Her face flamed, and she broke the embrace, looking anywhere but George's eyes, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have — "

George stood and held out a hand, "Nonsense," he smirked, "if Fred asks what that was about, I'll just tell him it was you professing your undying love for me."

Artemis took his hand and snorted at his words, finally meeting his eyes, "not bloody likely — "

Then she saw that they had an audience. Fred Weasley was standing in a glowing doorway mere metres away, arms crossed and a picture of innocence — if it weren't for the grin that he wore from ear to ear.

"Lovely night," Fred commented and winked at Artemis.

Artemis dropped George's hand when she realized she was still squeezing his fingers despite having already been helped up. She narrowed her eyes at the twin who stood in the doorway, "Don't give me that look, Weasley."

She trudged through the wet snow as fast as she could, leaving George to huff out deep breaths as he tried to catch up but slipped in the muck.

"What look?" Fred asked, moving slightly to the side to make room for her as she arrived at the door.

"The stupid one," Artemis grunted, "where are we?"

"Shell Cottage."

"Shell Cottage?" Artemis frowned up at Fred.

A gentle hand at her elbow turned Artemis to the left. Her mouth opened in shock as she took in the beach and the sea. She'd been in such a shock from the attack on the Cheshire Outpost that she hadn't registered the rhythmic lapping on the waves, "ah. Shell Cottage."

George snickered from where he stood at her side, his hand still on her elbow.

Artemis wrinkled her nose at him and entered the cottage.