Blue moon ; George Weasley

Thirty-eight

"I do not want to go down for dinner."

Esme was stubbornly sitting on George's bed, arms folded over her chest while George changed into his robes so that he wouldn't get in trouble for not looking descent.

"You'll have to eat."

"Nope."

"Esme— George chuckled and turned to look at her.

"It's not fair!" She exclaimed and got onto her knees. "I'm the only girl in this friend group, George! That rule of hers is stupid and I don't want to be sitting on my own just because girls and boys can't be near each other!"

"You won't be sitting on your own. You'll have Angie, Alicia and Katie."

Esme scoffed.

"Yeah? So I'll have to listen to Angie gush about you? Well that's even better."

With a smile, George walked over to the bed and looked down at Esme.

"You do realise she's just messing with you, right?" He asked. "She knows I like you."

"No she doesn't..."

"And she knows you like me too." George said with a faint smile. "She was just messing with you."

"Oh..." realisation hit her and George laughed softly at her expression. "...right. I forgot."

"Yeah." George nodded. "Remember when her and I went out for a little while? I left her because of my feelings for you..."

"Oh shit." Esme clamped a hand over her mouth and stared up at him. "I forgot. How did I forget that?"

With that, she crawled off the bed and hurried out of the dorm, hurrying to her own dorm where Angie was on her bed, surrounding by makeup, a mirror in her hand.

Esme shut the door and Angie looked up for a short second. "Hi Es."

"You don't like George." She said, walking towards Angie's bed. "Why would you say you like him, when you know I like him."

A small smile found it's way onto Angie's face.

"I do like him, Esme, but—" she shrugged. "...I see how he looks at you and I know that you like him back. You just hadn't realised it and I helped him by making you realise that."

Esme felt stunned. She stared at Angie while blinking slowly.

"Are you okay, though?" Angie asked and looked up at Esme. "You know George and I went out a few times, though you forgot all about it."

"I—" Esme gulped. "...I have a lot on my mind."

With a nod, Angie reached out and grabbed Esme's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I know. If I can do anything to help, let me know, yeah?"

Esme thanked her quietly before making her way back towards the door, but Angie's voice stopped her.

"Hey, Esme?"

Esme looked back and their eyes met.

"I'm glad that you're the person George wants to be with." She said. "You really compliment each other."

Esme didn't know what to say to that. She offered Angie a smile and then left to go back to George's dorm.

Esme felt bad for Angie. She knew what it was like to see someone she liked be with someone else, and she couldn't imagine how badly her friend and teammate was hurting,

When she got back to the dorm, Fred and Lee was there as well. Esme hesitated for a moment because she didn't know how much George had told them.

She quietly walked over to George's bed and took a seat, watching her friends to see how they'd act towards her.

But they all acted normally. They didn't come with any special remark as she entered the room.

Actually, they didn't say anything. They were used to having her around and it was casual. She liked that.

Fred and George were in a heated discussion about quidditch while Lee was staring at himself in the mirror, closely studying his skin.

They didn't seem to know anything, and that made her relieved. George hadn't told them anything without asking her first.

He wasn't gonna tell them anything that she wasn't comfortable with them knowing.

"Guys?" Esme asked softly after a moment of studying the three of them.

They all stopped whatever they were doing and looked at her.

Esme smiled.

"I love you all so much."

George smiled and looked down at the tie in his hand while Fred pouted at Esme, placing a hand over his heart.

Then there was Lee's reaction.

He fake cried and rushed towards her, attacking her with a hug on the bed, causing Esme to scream with laughter.

"If you kill yourself, Esme Eileen Night, I will crawl my way to heaven and push you off the clouds so that you die a second time!" Lee said and sat up, looking at Esme with very raised eyebrows and very wide eyes.

"What?" Esme laughed. "Who said anything about—"

"You only get sentimental with your friends when you're suicidal." He said. "I didn't make that rule."

Then he placed a hand on Esme's shoulder.

"But I love you too. Just stay alive, will you? You need to be here when I get married one day. Then afterwards, I give you permission to... y'know—"

He made a cutting gesture at his neck.

"...off yourself."

"Merlin's beard, Lee." George groaned dramatically while Esme gasped, throwing a pillow at Lee.

"I'm not suicidal, you arsehole!"

"I mean, I wouldn't blame you. I—"

"Lee, shut your face." Fred spoke, and Lee held up his hands in surrender as he moved off the bed.

Lee moved back to the mirror and George walked closer to his bed where Esme sat. He got onto his knees and pulled something out from under his bed that she couldn't see.

"You okay?" He asked her quietly. "About the sitting arrangements in the Great Hall?"

Esme laid down flat on her back, sighing heavily with a hand resting on her stomach.

"I hate that I can't sit with you."

"I know..." George placed his hand on hers, lacing their fingers together and Esme turned her head to smile weakly at him.

Across the room, Fred and Lee who had been talking, stopped when Fred noticed the action. He elbowed Lee in the side and then nodded towards their two friends.

Lee grinned at the interaction and so did Fred, loving that George and Esme were okay again.

"Did you talk to Angie?" George asked, rubbing his thumb against Esme's hand while his eyes scanned over her face.

"Yeah." She breathed. "I feel bad for her, George."

"I know..." he said softly. "...me too."

"But she's being really sweet about it. She said we compliment each other. She's also happy that I'm the one you like, which... I mean, it's quite understandable, isn't it? I'm pretty great."

George laughed and pulled her hand up to his lips so he could plant a kiss on her skin.

"Yeah you are."