Undesirable (George Weasley)

14

I groaned as the sun shed into my eyes, yes to my mother opening the curtains before I was ready to awake. I shifted in my bed, reaching for the familiar pillow only to be hit with something cold, and hard. Gasping, I felt the panic settle in as my body was now set in an unfamiliar place, my memory struggling to keep up. Feeling a hand reach for me at the edge of the bed, my eyes met George's concerned ones as I suddenly jolted from my original laying position.

His eyes calmed me down, as my memory relayed back to me in small bursts. I was okay. I was at Hogwarts. George is here, I had a panic attack and passed out. I'm probably in the hospital wing, and taking in the surroundings I was filled with, my assumption was correct. I slowly laid back down, as my head began to spin and I felt the bile form earlier begin to creep up again.

"I was so worried, I've never seen you like that. Are you alright?" Nodding, I heard footers approach from the left side of my bed, hearing the wheels of what appeared to be a side table. "We'll talk later, alright?"

"Oh dear you're awake, been out for only a few hours. Here, drink this, come up now. You should be good to go afterwards." Sitting up, I smiled weakly at Ms. Promphrey, as she slid the small vial of purple liquid towards me. Bonding my nose, I gulped down the remains and shivered as the potions slowly made it ways down my throat. Immediately, my headache began to subside and the room began to stand in place.

"Off you go now, it's nearly dinner. Don't want to miss anything else of the day I suppose." She hurried off, sending a wink and one last smile my way before my eyes shifted to George's.

"Ready?" He asked, and I smiled as a response. Grabbing my hand, he led me out from the hospital wing, swinging our hand back and forth. For a moment, I had almost forgot the reason as to why I was sent into the hospital. I could just appreciate a silent stroll through the castle with George, who started a conversation about dinner rolls. Making me laugh, the pain of protecting everyone I loved wore off for that brief moment we shared.

Too bad not everything in life can come down to a conversation about dinner rolls.

Walking into the dining hall, my eyes subconsciously scanned the hufflepuff table, where I knew Cedric was sitting. My nerves raced, and I quickly let my gaze fall to the floor. Sensing my change in demeanor, George lifted my hand and planted a rather sloppy kiss on the back. Faking a gag, we both found our seats with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Are you alright Sabrina!? Oh, I was so worried when they said you were in the hospital wing today! Feeling better?" Angelina asked, and quickly wrapped me into a hug. Returning it, she offered me a smile in which I returned, turning back to the feast in front of me.

Filling my plate with food, I could feel the stares of everyone around the dining hall. It had been no secret that I had fainted, making for a rather dramatic scene in the hallway. Instead of letting the rumors consume me, I quickly indulged myself with some soup, letting the warmth distract me for the next few moments.

After the feast, George and I decided that a conversation about earlier truly wasn't needed as much as just a relaxing evening. The following week, students gathered around the main entrance to the dining hall, while Filch stamped up a notice. Scanning over the note in its entirety, I gasped in realization. As stressed as I had been, between keeping Cedric alone and learning five years of magic in the span of a few weeks, I had forgotten that the actuality of the tournament had to begin.

"October 31st, that's Halloween!" George exclaimed from next to me, making me jump slightly.

"Yeah Georgie, tomorrow. Which means..."

"We have to get going!" Planting a kiss on my cheek, George quickly ran off with Fred, while I shook my head in embarrassment. I knew the twins were going to begin working on the aging potion, which would unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how well you liked the twins) lead towards their rapid new hair growth.

I found myself wandering the halls, as it was typically quite quiet this time of evening, trying to rid myself of these awful thoughts. Shaking my head in disappointment, I hadn't even realized I was walking straight into a mass of body before I collided directly into them.

Feeling the air leave my lungs for a split second, two hands grabbed the front of my robes before I fell directly against the cold tiles. Tilting my head up, I saw the familiar smirk of a certain badger looking down at me.

"Alright there, Sabrina?" He asked, his eyebrow furrowed in worry, while his eyes sparkled in amusement. Blushing, I looked down to the shoelaces that had come undone roughly beneath me.

"Fine, yes thank you. Stupid shoes, you know? Can't figure out how to keep them tied." As soon as the words left my mouth, I mentally cringed at my stupid sentence.

"Ahhh yes, quite the contrapment they are." Cedric smiled, then bent down to tie my shoes. Already embarrassed enough, I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop, so I just allowed the uncomfortable silence to fill the air until Cedric finally stood.

"Uh thanks." I stuttered out, only receiving a chuckle from Cedric himself.

"We've never truly talked, you know? How do you feel about the tournament?" I stiffened at his words, hoping to find a quick escape from this awkward moment.

"Oh, we'll, I'm too young to enter. My birthdays a few weeks after the twins, even though they think they, somehow, can outsmart Dumbledore themselves." Rolling my eyes, I began to relax around Cedric.

"I plan on entering myself, after the schools arrive of course. What do you think about it, should I?" He asked, and I could sense the question was genuine. Not knowing how to say no I'm the least rude way possible, I tried approaching the topic without mentioning his untimely death that I was stressing about enough to not let occur.

"Honestly, if you were one of the twins, or even Angelina, I would say never. I don't know how worth it is to compete, you know? It's incredibly dangerous and considering what I've heard from the recent years at Hogwarts, being able to survive has been lucky. Why throw yourself into something potentially dangerous?" He seemed to ponder my thoughts, but to my disappointment he offered a counter.

"Well what about the glory of winning, and getting chosen? My dad would be so proud..." he cut off there, as I felt this information was slightly personal to him. Grabbing his shoulder, I looked him dead in the eyes, filled with concern and fear, his filled with determination and excitement.

"Your father is proud of you, Cedric. You beat THE Harry Potter in a quidditch match. He wouldn't care whether you competed or not. I know he's appreciative of you either way. You're too hard on yourself, you've accomplished so much. Maybe take a step down and just enjoy the tournament, yeah? I'm sure the tournament will be exciting enough." Thinking over my words, I could see the gears grinding within his mind. He smiled at me, then drew me into a hug. I tensed at first, being incredibly surprised at his sudden movement of affection, but relaxed knowing he meant well.

"Thank you, Sabrina. I needed to hear that. I promise I'll reconsider, and if I do plan to put my name in, I'll make sure to let you know first." Smiling at me, he offered a wave then ran off towards his friends who had just turned down the corridor. I had finally felt the weight lift from my shoulders, as I was glad that Cedric was reconsidering entering. Hopefully, whoever the champion was will have a different outcome then Cedric, and therefore will not make it to the cup with Harry.

When I reached my room, I crawled under the covers and stared out the window. Every star seemed brighter tonight, especially the Leo constellation. I had always loved the stars, admiring the depth that each one has taken among the sky. Sighing to myself, I drifted off into a comfortable slumber, dreaming of me riding a lion, jumping from the stars of Regulus to Dennibola to Algieba.