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"How was your first practice?" Fred asked, tilting his head with a smug grin at seeing my panting. Even after a long shower to get all the dirt and sweat off me, I was still out of breath, and my legs were numb from sitting on a broom for over two hours.
"Good. Angelina is —"
"You think she's hard? You should've seen Wood. Quidditch obsessed that one," George added, and Fred agreed that sounded more like a grumble of annoyance at the mention of this "Wood" person.
"Didn't he go off to join a league?"
"Puddlemere pretty sure," Lee cut in, and the twins looked quite impressed.
"I'd sell my kidney to see his reaction to us getting cut. He'd probably tackle that old toad until she's stuck in the ground," the three laughed, and I watched them stiffly.
"Remember when he almost punched Flint in year four," Lee recalled with a barking laugh.
"They might as well have been snogging," Fred said, and George scoffed.
"Oh, rubbish!"
"Think about it —"
"I don't wanna think about it!" Lee squealed, and they laughed.
"Flint was a horrid troll," George stated.
"But Wood could handle a horrible troll such as him," Lee and George rolled their eyes as I stood, grabbing my bag from around the chair.
"I'm going to do my homework," I whispered in George's ear before kissing his cheek and walking over to one of the chairs next to the fire. It was as if I could feel the confusion radiating off the three boys as I opened my Transfiguration book and pulled out a piece of parchment to begin the ten-page essay due at the end of the week about the common and uncommon uses for all animal transfiguration.
I was writing about the differences between toad and tortoise spells when I felt a presence on my left. I already knew who it was, so I continued scribbling and waited for George to speak. For a few minutes, he watched me read and make notes about the most used birds.
"Are you okay?" He asked, and I finally looked up. I smiled softly at him and nodded before continuing to write. He took a long breath and placed a gentle hand on my arm. "I want you to know something...."
I didn't reply, but he knew to continue when I didn't interfere. "I want you to know that I love you, Nadeleine." I did my best to continue breathing as I looked over at his brown eyes. They looked so deprived that it was almost desperate, but I knew he was just craving for some type of answer.
I put his chin between my fingers and brought him up to a small kiss that still seeped with our usual passion. When we separated, he couldn't resist smiling, and I ran my thumb over his cheekbone. "I love you too, my beautiful little prankster."
