P A R A M O U R || George Weasley

26|| WASHED UP MAD EYE

Looking in all directions, Lyra walks up the hundreds of steps leading to the Astronomy tower. Her steps echo, giving away her presence to whoever is near. She's lost count of how many times she's found herself in this same position since returning to Hogwarts. It's not easy when you have a secret boyfriend who is your family's mortal enemy.

She's alone when she reaches the top. Lyra is the first to arrive today despite having to help first-years find their way back to the common room. She leans against the railing, catching her breath. No matter how in shape a person is, there is no way they are surviving the towers hundreds of steps.

Throughout the weeks since returning to Hogwarts, George and Lyra have been sending each other secret messages. Mostly about places they can meet later in the day and other silly little love notes. They exchange them when classes end and the halls fill up with students. No one sees their hands brushing together to slip the messages into the other's hand, such a small action within the chaos that is Hogwarts.

Her days run late into the night with their clandestine meetings, yet it's when she feels most happy and relaxed. George always manages to put a smile on her face even if she's had a terrible day; she tries to do the same in return, although it seems enough for him to be with her. This is what she always envisioned when she dated Adrian, funny how she found it with a Gryffindor.

She hears steps approaching. Lyra has learned to recognize George's footsteps apart from Filch's, so she's not surprised when two arms wrap around her waist and a kiss is planted on her cheek.

"Hello, love," George whispers in her ear, hugging her waist.

"Hi," she whispers back, turning to face him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We should find somewhere else to see each other. These stairs are killing me," George says. The redhead doesn't want to look winded each time he sees her, but the stairs make it hard not to lose his breath. He often jokes that she's the reason why, not the steps. George was hoping to make it first to the tower, but he got carried away with Fred working on a wheezes product.

"We have a nice view, though," Lyra argues, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. Lyra loves that he's let his hair grow long. He looks charming, which suits his personality, unlike the short, tidy style he wore when younger.

The Astronomy Tower has been one of their hiding spots from the world. By far, it's Lyra's favorite and the one she feels most secure in. It reminds her of the Solarium back at home. But also, no one usually checks the Astronomy tower for any students past their bedtime.

"It fails to compare with my view," George mentions, casually stealing a kiss from her lips.

"You need to stop being so cheesy, Weasley," the blonde holds back a laugh, lightly shoving his shoulder.

"Nah, I enjoy seeing you act like you don't like 'em," he laughs, pinching her cheek.

The couple falls into a comfortable routine, sitting together and discussing their day. They don't share many classes anymore. Only Defense Against The Dark Arts which is Lyra's least favorite class. Before this year, she had been indifferent about the course. Now with Alastor' Mad-Eye' Moody as the Professor, it quickly earned her distaste.

"Fred give you any trouble before coming here?" Lyra asks George. She's sitting on the cold floor of the tower with George's head on her lap as she brushes through his hair. He lazily opens his eyes at her question.

It's no secret George has a girlfriend. All the letters during the summer and his late-night rendezvous give it away. At the beginning of the semester, Fred would try to follow George to catch a glimpse of Lyra. That led to a 'small' argument between the twins about privacy, so Fred changed tactics to annoy George to see if he'd cave and spit out the truth. Did not work either.