Blue moon ; George Weasley

Twenty-eight

Esme and George left Esme's room together.

They didn't say anything to each other as George walked down the hallway to he and Fred's room, and Esme stared after him.

She hated that she couldn't just be with him. She wanted nothing more, but she had to set her boundaries, and she couldn't go into another relationship that would hurt her along the way.

She had to stand her ground whether it was painful or not. She knew it was better for her in the long run.

Esme walked down the hallway, fidgeting with her fingers, and when she got to the end of the stairs, her eyes landed on Bill.

"Have you heard anything?" Esme asked, earning his attention.

Bill smiled slightly at Esme, nodding as he glanced back at one of the photographs on the wall.

"He'll be okay." He said and Esme finally knew how to breathe.

She approached Bill, looking up at the photograph he was staring at. It was an old picture of the first order and his focus seemed to be on one specific person... or two.

"Who're they?" Esme asked, tilting her head. "Anyone you know?"

Bill didn't get to respond before Esme recognised one of them.

"That's Milo, isn't it?" She asked, referring to one of the current order members. "Then that must be his wife. She died during the first war, right?"

Bill nodded.

"Her name was Lena."

"And you knew her?"

"No." Bill laughed softly. "No, I was very young when she died. I don't think I ever met her. But I did know her daughter."

Esme raised her eyebrows.

"Milo has a daughter?"

Bill frowned and glanced down at Esme, wondering how she couldn't possibly know that.

"Milo has five children." He informed her. "The oldest looks a lot like her mother."

Esme pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked up at the photograph.

"He's never mentioned his children." She said before pointing to the face of Lena. "Are they all hers?"

Bill shook his head.

"Milo and Lena had two. A daughter and a son. After Lena passed, Milo later met Fauna and they had triplets. Three girls."

Esme's eyes widened and she looked at Bill in shock, then nodded.

"Wow. That's quite amazing." She said and she couldn't help but smile. "Were you and the oldest daughter friends?"

Bill chuckled, amused at Esme's questions. He had known Esme for many years and he knew she was curious so he wasn't gonna refuse to answer her questions.

"I wouldn't call us friends." He answered. "She was apart of his huge friend group of seven people and she was in Slytherin. I was head-boy and I was always on their backs, but I never learned her name. I knew her friends names but Ianthe was always quiet around me. Turned out she liked me."

"Ooh..." Esme grinned. "...a love story. Do tell."

Bill laughed again.

"It's not much of a story, Es." He said, shaking his head. "I fell in love with her, she broke my heart and we broke up after a month. I met Fleur a few years ago and I'm sure Ianthe is with her friend."

"Her friend?"

Bill smiled vaguely but Esme could sense the heartbreak in his eyes. She couldn't quite believe that she never knew this part of Bill's life.