I'll Catch You (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

A Near Miss

The pile of clothes that I had scooped up in my arms threatened to teeter over and hit the floor as I attempted to make my way over to my bed, where my trunk was currently residing. I had been packing my bag for three hours, and I was about ready to scream.


It wasn't because I couldn't decide what to bring to school, or because trying to fit everything into one trunk was like an impossible game of Tetris. It was because that stupid ginger was sitting beside my trunk and every time I would turn my back, everything I had put in my trunk inexplicably ended back up in their drawers. Coinsidence? Not in the slightest.


"I honestly don't know what you're talking about" George furrowed his brows at me as he stroked Bart, who was sitting in his lap and purring softly.


"Right, because my clothes are just disappearing into another dimension" I rolled my eyes and dropped the pile into my trunk before placing my hands on my hips. "Which then leads back to the original drawers?"


"Don't be ridiculous" he laughed and leaned back onto his elbows. "It's obviously the gnomes. They steal everything, but they also return them. Tricky little devils." I wasn't sure whether I should be mad at George for holding me up, or be flattered that he wanted me to stay that badly.


"That's right, I forgot that I have gnomes living under my bed" I said and took a step closer. "No really George, all jokes aside, I actually need my clothes to go to school. They're sort of mandatory, if you know what I mean."


George picked up Bart and placed him by my pillows. "You make a great argument, love, but I think I can one-up you" he smiled and reached his hands forward to grab me around the waist. He pulled me to the edge of the bed, my knees pressed against the side of the mattress. "Don't go to school."


With those words, he pulled me close so I was kneeling on the edge of the bed, my hands planted against the sheets on either side of his head. "George...." I sighed as he pulled himself up a tad so he could kiss my neck. "You know I would love to just drop everything and stay home with you.... but I just can't."


"And why not?" he mumbled against my skin.


"Because I think I have a pretty fair shot at becoming a Healer, and I think theres only enough room in this relationship for one Hogwarts drop-out." I shuddered as George tightened his grip on my waist and lifted me up several more inches.


"I could take care of us" he whispered in my ear. "The shop is doing really well! We could live anywhere that you want, buy anything you want, do anything you want...." he continued kissing a trail up my neck, but I froze.


I tried to think of a life like the one George had just described, where my sole purpose in life was to sit around and look pretty. To some women, it might have been the ideal future but to me it was like my own personal hell. To be the one without need, or drive, or reason.


"Something wrong?" George asked as I pulled away so I was kneeling on the edge of the bed again.


"No. Well, actually yes" I said and pulled back even further so I was standing again. "I don't like the sound of that at all, actually."


George rolled his eyes and folded his arms back behind his head. "Merely a suggestion, Ace. If you want to graduate and become a healer than I am behind you one hundred percent, there isn't a doubt about that."


I immediately sighed in relief, thanking Merlin that I had such a relaxed boyfriend. "Good, because there isn't a thing you can do to stop me" I winked and looked back into my trunk, noticing that it was empty once again. "GEORGE! Could you stop doing that?!"


"Stop doing what?" he smirked and kicked his feet up into the air.


"Stop unpacking my trunk! At this rate, I'm going to have to walk around school naked" I turned back to my drawers and grabbed an armful of clothing, again.


I heard George get to his feet and felt as his arms looped around my waist. "Well, we can't have that. We both know that I'm the only one who can see you like that" he said loudly, causing me to drop my clothes, spin around in his arms, and smack his chest.

"Shhhh!" I hissed as I felt the blush creep up my cheeks.


"What!" he laughed and pulled me into his chest. "We're all alone and your dad won't be coming home for hours. Who's going to hear us.... Bart?" he eyed the ball of green fluff who was staring up at us sleepily from my pillows.


"Yes, and we don't want to taint his innocent ears at such a young age" I said and stepped away from him.


"Ace.... I'm not even sure if he has ears. Hell, I'm not even sure if he is a he" George laughed and bent down to pick up my clothes.


"Oh, Bart has ears" I smirked and looked up at George. "Watch this..... Bart, rollover" I said and Bart blinked his big eyes before squeaking and rolling sideways off of my pillow. "Now jump." Bart squeaked again and sprung a foot in the air, landing back on the mattress with a quiet thud.


"You taught Bart tricks?" George asked, obviously impressed.


"I'm a miracle what he can do when you bribe him with Every Flavour Beans" I winked at him. "Besides, you haven't even seen the best one." I pointed my finger at Bart and narrowed my eyes. "Avada Kedavra" I shouted. Bart's eyes widened before he made a tiny shrieking noise and toppled backwards onto my covers, his legs sticking straight up into the air.


George immediately began to laugh as he placed my clothes in the trunk. "That's brilliant, Ace" he continued to laugh as he began to pick up the rest of the clothes on my floor.


I looked at him with raised eyebrows and he shrugged. "You've decided I can go now?" I asked.


"Yeah" he sighed and picked up my beige trench coat. "I mean, I guess that I've messed with you enough for tonight and should start being a good boyfriend by helping you pack your things. And I have a confession...... I was the one hiding your things."


"Oh really?" I gasped, clasping the shirt over my heart. "I never would have guessed."


"I know it's just a part of my charm I guess" he said, dropping my coat into my trunk, the sound of glass clinking together following after his voice. He stopped and looked at me with furrowed brows before reaching his hand into my pocket.


He pulled out two of the glass tubes and held them in the palm of his hand and gave me a look of confusion. "What's this?" he asked.


Help! I whispered to inner me.


.....


I waited for her to answer, but instead was answered by the sound of silence.


"Oh, it's an extra assignment from Snape to help boost my grades in his class. I need at least an E in my NEWTs potions class so he gave me some more advanced work to... uhm.... get a head start." I thought up quickly, internally kicking myself for coming up with such a stupid excuse. Snape would never give extra credit work? Who was I trying to kid?


George blinked at me before reaching back into my pocket and pulling out the rest of the viles, laying all eleven out on the comforter. "Oh.... Well do you have a potions wrack or something? You don't want them to break in your trunk, do you?"


"Uhm, yeah I do" I said, internally sighing before turning around to find my portable potions wrack. "Good thinking, George" I said as I grabbed each of the tubes and lied them on their side, inside of the hard-shelled potions case.


"That's what I do best, think" he laughed and placed the case inside of my trunk. He cast a sideways glance at it and I couldn't help but panic a tiny bit. I had to get his mind away from those potions before I could get my mind away from them too.


"Yeah? Well, now I feel sort of silly, seeing as I obviously only love you for your body. But it's nice to know that there's a brain up there too" I said, sliding my arms around his waist and pressing myself against him. "A brain is a terrible thing to waste."


I released George for a second and moved the trunk from my bed. Next, I took Bart and placed him in my bathroom along with his food and water bowl. "And then again...." I sighed as I walked back up to George and placed a hand on his chest. "A great body is a terrible thing to waste, as well." I pushed him down onto the bed and stood over him, smiling coyly and hoping that he was thinking of anything but the potions in my trunk.


___________________________________________________________________



I struggled to keep a hold of George's hand as we were jostled around platform 9 ¾ by the hundreds of students attempting to board the train. "The trains going to leave any minute!" I squealed as I was tossed into George's chest by a sudden wave of people.


"I know, darling, just give me one more minute" George said, almost peacefully, as he hugged me tight around the torso and kissed the top of my head.


I held back the urge to tell him to shove off, because I was feeling the exact same way, if not stronger, about letting him go. At Hogwarts, I would be safe from the impending war, or at least for longer than he would be on the outside. Stores were being attacked by death eaters on a weekly basis, some of the shop keepers disappearing entirely.


My eyes flickered downwards to the trunk at our feet. I had originally intended to leave the potions at home, but it seems to me that fate was against me. Last night, George and I had packed them away into my trunk. This morning, I unpacked them. That is, until George saw them lying on my dresser and said – 'Well you don't want to forget these, do you?' There they went, back into my trunk and tempting me even more to take them.


"Okay" George breathed and held me out at arm's length. "You ready to go?"


"Am I ever ready?" I sighed and blinked tightly, trying to push everything out of my mind. I only needed to think about George, not death eaters, or Antoine, or the potion.


"Everything will be fine, love. Just four more months and then Christmas break, when we will get to spend two glorious weeks together, shagging like rabbits..."


"George!" I hissed and punched him lightly on the chest. "For Merlin's sake your mother could be here anywhere and I am not ready to have that conversation, alright?"


"Of course, my darling, anything you say" George rolled his eyes and pecked me on the mouth. "Now get on the train. I'd offer to drive you to Hogwarts in my dad's flying car, but ever since Harry and Ron stole it..." he shook his head and went off in thought.


"Harry and Ron stole your dad's flying car?" I asked incredulously.


"Another story for another time, love. Now get going!" he kissed me on the lips once more before turning me towards the train and giving me a pat on the bum, which of course had me blushing like mad.


I boarded the train, my trunk dragging behind me, and I began my immediate search for Kelly and Laura. I didn't have to search long, knowing that the compartment with shrieking coming from it would be, most certainly, theirs.


"You did what!" Laura yelled at the top of her lungs, flinging herself onto Kelly's bench and wrapping her boney fingers around her shoulders.


"I told you, it's nothing I haven't done before...." Kelly trailed off, forcing herself back against the seat to avoid the spittle that was inadvertently flying out of Laura's mouth.


"Nothing's changed, I see" I mused from the doorframe, my arms crossed tightly over my chest and my trunk sitting by my feet.


Their heads turned at the same time, a simultaneous blur of white and red, as they screamed "ACE!" and threw themselves at me. Their hands wrapped themselves around my elbows as they pulled me down onto the seat, each of them speaking at rapid-fire.


"You will not believe what happened this summer!" Laura squealed, casting a sideways glance at the door.


"Well, you'll believe what happened to me this summer" Kelly shrugged and pushed her glassed up the bridge of her nose.


"Oh yeah, that totally reminds me!" Laura turned to Kelly, finger pointed straight at her face. "Don't you think that you two are moving a bit fast?!"


"Laura, six months is the pace of a snail in my world, so stop acting so shocked!" Kelly defended herself, scrunching her nose and furrowing her brows.


"What are you guys talking about?" I questioned, squinting at them and waiting for an answer. I didn't have to wait long.


"KELLY AND LEE DID IT!" Laura yelled, covering her mouth and looking at Kelly immediately after the words came out of her mouth.


"It's not a big deal!" Kelly rolled her eyes. "I mean, there have been loads of other guys before Lee and we waited six months! At least it wasn't a one-night stand after too many drinks!"


"Yeah..." I slipped in. "Six months seems like a good sized waiting period. George and I waited a year and a half before we did it...."


Their eyes turned to matching sets of saucers as they turned their heads towards me, mouth agape. "You two.... actually.... did...it?" Laura asked, obviously dumbstruck.


"You mean actual sex? You rounded the bases? Peeled the grape?" Kelly whispered, still slightly slack-jawed.


"Weren't you two already convinced that I was stripped of my virginal title last summer?" I asked and they each shook their heads.


"We were only kidding around Ace. We thought you were going to hold out on him forever!" Kelly said and leaned back against the window. "So, how was it?"


"Good... well great actually" I started, but Laura made a choking noise as she moved back to her bench. "What's the matter, Laura?"


"WHY AM I ALWAYS THE LAST ONE TO DO EVERYTHING?!"she wailed and threw her head against the seat. "You two have already had sex and I've yet to snog the boy I've liked for over a year! What's wrong with me?"


"Nothing is wrong with you" Kelly jumped in, sitting Laura up and holding her hands out in front of her. "And don't you ever think that for a minute."


"You want to know something, Laura?" I said slouching forward so our heads were close together. She nodded feebly and I went on, "George and I waited for a year and a half and it was amazing because we had to wait so long. So when you finally nab Neville, just think of how amazing it's going to feel."


"Exactly" Kelly nodded and smirked at me.


Laura opened her mouth to speak when a knock came from the door. We all looked up to find a somewhat green-looking Neville staring down at us. Laura's mouth opened and closed several times before he opened the door and stepped inside.


"Hey Laura" he said, scratching the top of his head and rubbing his cheek.


"Hey Neville" Laura said and wiped her nose on her sleeve.


"How was your summer" he asked.


"Good. How was yours?" she batted her eyes up at her a few times, obviously trying to rid herself of the tears.


"Uhm, pretty good. Can I... uhm... talk to you for a minute?" he said, his face draining of all colour.


"Sure" Laura said, uncertainly, and stood up. He held open the door for her and they left the compartment, probably to go find someplace secluded.


Kelly and I looked up at the wide open door for a minute before we turned to each other with wide grins on our faces.


"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked to Kelly, who nodded and ran a hand through her hair.


"That little Laura is finally going to get some?" she sniggered. I nodded and Kelly began to smile even more.


"So you and George finally did the nasty? Well, tell me everything my dear Acelynne, even the kinky parts."


"Quid pro-quo?" I asked and Kelly beamed.


"I wouldn't have it any other way" she winked and closed the door.