Amortentia- A George Weasley and Adrian Pucey Love Triangle

23. Elucidation

"Wake up, Mira! Come on, it's midday." I hear. My ears ring and my eyes feel heavy, but the muffled voice forces me to sit up.

I pull the curtain quickly, finding Julia stands in front of me. She sits on the edge of my bed quickly, pulling me into a hug. "What are you- how did you get in?" I ask, hugging her back. "Are you okay?" I pull away to look at her, and she nods quickly.

"I'm alright, just wanted to check in on you. Did George say anything about the necklace when you two went to talk? I didn't want to say it in front of Rob, but... it looked like you came back a little upset." She says, crossing her arms across her chest.

My eyes burn as I begin to remember what had happened; the mental image flashes in my head. I shake my head, not knowing how to respond. I try to stutter out some words, but I can't find any to say.

"He wasn't mad? You're not okay? Mira, what happened? Did he do something?" She asks quietly, her arms wrapping around me once more. I lean into her shoulder, crying quietly. "Oh Merlin, did he hit you or something?"

She lets me cry for a moment, consoling me silently. I finally am able to take a deep breath and pull myself away. "He d-didn't hit m-me. But w-we broke up." I say through my tears.

"He dumped you? Over a stupid necklace? Are you kidding me, he's such an-"

"No, no. I h-had to do it." I say, pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes. I can't keep crying, I need to collect myself. "I just had to." I echo.

"What did he say?" She whispers. "I can't help but feel it's my fault, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it was already a lot of things. Thinking now, it's trivial what broke me. He... he told me..." I trail off, not wanting to relive it.

I begin to play with the hem of my t-shirt, not knowing what to say. It hurts badly, but I know I can't tell Julia everything. She'd hate George. I don't think he deserved that; Julia was a bit frightening when she was angry. She was usually so calm and collected- her small moments of rage meant she was really, truly full of anger.

"You can tell me. Help me understand." She says quietly.

I chuckle lightly, knowing what I was going to say sounds ridiculous. "Well, that... that Robert should find a diet for me to try-"

"He what?"

I shrug, not wanting to sound like an idiot. "It was a stupid little comment, but in the moment it was what drove me over-"

"That's not a stupid little comment! What a dick. You have every right to be upset, that just proves he doesn't respect you. Merlin, I... I-" Julia stands from the bed, walking to the door. "Take me to his room. I'm going to curse his ears off! Or bind both of his lips together, so he can never say-"

"Julia, it's alright. I don't want anyone to go after him." I say, trying to not cry. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself back down. She walks back to me and holds my hands.

"Sorry. How are you feeling?" She asks quietly. "You can talk to me."

"I don't know. I love him. He's my best friend, always has been. I just don't know how we can go back to being friends after that. Merlin, it's stupid, but when we were young we swore..." I can't continue; my voice is too thick with tears.

"Take your time. I've got nothing but time." Julia says quietly.

I'm grateful I have a friend like her. I know she won't just let this slide, she actually wants to help me. "We swore that we'd be friends forever. We always said no matter what fight, we'd still be friends. But I don't know anymore."

"You know what? Forget him. You can find another guy in no time! You're gorgeous. And you're really smart and all, and athletic with that quidditch and everything. I swear, Mira, you don't give yourself enough credit. You have a line of blokes waiting to ask you out." Julia says, trying to comfort me.

I blush deeply. "No, no. I don't want to date anyone right now. I just need time to myself, you know?"

"Oh come on, the best way to get over someone is by getting under someone else." Julia says, giggling lightly.

"Ew, absolutely not!" I say, which makes the both of us laugh out loud. I wipe the remnants of my tears off of my face. "There's been enough rumors of me being a bed-jumper."

"Fine then, no bed-hopping for now. But get ready for the day, please, so we can do something. I've yet to eat breakfast, we can go together, just the two of us." She smiles at me.

"Looks like we'll have to catch the lunch hour." I laugh. She pulls me out of bed and lays where I once laid, laughing when I open my closet.

"It's bare! What's happened to all of your clothes?" She says, watching as I yank a pair of jeans from the dresser.

"Packed them. You realize we leave the morning after tomorrow?" I ask.

Julia covers her face and groans. "Ugh, you're right. No, we can't be leaving yet!" She complains.

I start to change my clothing, a deep pit in my chest. It feels so weird to know that George and I were really over. I know it's what's best for me, but it hurts nonetheless. I sigh, my jeans feeling heavy on my hips. My shoulders feel dragged to the ground, my entire body full of melancholy.

"I don't know, Julia. I don't really feel like I'm in the most positive mood. I kind of just want to stay here until we have to go home." I sigh, willing myself to not cry.

"Mira, that's two whole days." Julia says, concern etched in her expression. "You can't stay in your room for two days."

My mind flashes to my days spent in near isolation this year. I had felt so evil, so disgusting for smelling Fred in my love potion. I felt ashamed, like no one should see me. For nothing, I suppose. It had been George I smelled. He was the one I loved.

"Yeah, I suppose it's a bit excessive. I don't want to lock myself away. I just don't want to run into him. Well, I don't want to run into anyone." I say quietly.

Julia looks to me, a bit sadly. "You know I love you, Mira. When I met you, things were so different. I can't help but feel that we've switched positions you and I. I know what it feels like to go through what you are now."

I look to the ground, sniffling lightly. Things used to be so different. Everything was calm, there were no problems in my life. I had amazing friends and I was happy. I shouldn't let the year's events bring me down, but some small part of me things this happened to me for a reason.

I was a bit of a prick. I was selfish and never thought of the consequences. I can't help but think that the universe had thrown this year at me to teach me a lesson. I feel like I've matured loads since the beginning of the year. At least, I hope I have.

I think everyone in my year has, to some extent. Perhaps it was our looming final year that brought us here. Only one year from today would be my own graduation. I shiver at the thought.

I look to Julia. "Do you want to have a girls night, maybe tomorrow? There's that party tomorrow, so it would be too noisy here. Perhaps we can go to Slytherin-"

"We are going to that party tomorrow, and you're going to look hot while you're there. You are going to make that stupid little prick regret everything he ever did to you." Julia says standing up to join me.  "You're going to be happy again, and I'm going to make sure you do it."

"But I-" I start, but Julia wraps her arms around me and squeezes me close to her.

She hugs me tightly, swaying together for a moment. "Let's get breakfast, and then I'll send Jacob to Hogsmeade so we can have a little girls night tonight, how does that sound? You can invite some of your house friends too, we can make it a big event in itself."

I pull away from Julia; I grasp her hands lightly in mine. "You're the best friend I could have ever found. Thank you, Jules." I say quietly.

She smiles and sniffles lightly; I can tell she's trying to not cry either. "You were there for me when no one else was. I'm the one who's grateful here. Now come on, let's get you into some sunlight. Robert was telling me that vitamin D makes you happier, isn't he just brilliant?"