HOAX | George Weasley

XIX

George's POV

George had dreamed of this moment many times.

He wasn't sure when it had been the first time. He remembered being younger, barely twelve and trying to do anything to make his new friend laugh, she had such a pretty laugh. He also remembered the ugly way he had behaved when she had chosen another boy to kiss, clearly not one of his brightest moments. But he couldn't pinpoint the moment when he realised that he felt...something that was clearly not friendship towards Cassie.

But could you blame him?

It scared him at first, he was so determined to hide whatever feelings he had so it wouldn't ruin their friendship that when he was finally ready to act on it, it was too late. Fred wouldn't let him forget about it too, he didn't lose a chance to remind him how slow and cowardly he had acted. So, imagine his surprise now.

What changed? Maybe the years of convincing himself that she didn't feel anything other than friendship towards him had been wrong, a way of self-preservation. Perhaps now that Roger was out of the picture, she finally—

"Fake boyfriend!" she hurried to add.

Oh.

"Your face completely paled just then," a small laugh, she looked nervous. "So, let me explain." She grabbed his arm and led him to a more hidden spot in the corridor, right next to the armour of a knight that George knew led to a secret passageway, but clearly Cassie wasn't aware of.

He waited for her to start speaking, but she was just looking at the floor, tapping her foot as a reflex and biting her nails. She looked to be having a mental argument from how contorted her face seemed. He leaned against the wall next to him, he didn't want to make it easier for her so he didn't attempt to speak first. He was just really confused, part of him thought that he had misheard her altogether, but another part was sure of what he heard. She asked him to be her boyfriend, fake boyfriend, whatever that meant. He wasn't too thrilled to find out.

When she finally lifted her head up, he was taken aback by the intensity of her eyes, the determination in them. "Here's the thing," she took a big breath of air. "I overheard a conversation of Roger and—" involuntarily he rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the wall, huffing. Of course it was about him, it's always about him. "I know, it sounds childish but—"

"It does. Please do not drag me into your poor attempt to get him back, ask Fred to help you." He knew that he had been harsher than usual, but he was tired. It escaped his mind why a girl as great as Cassie would want to be with such a twat. His back was almost turned to her, attempting to walk away, when she grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "I don't want him back!" she shouted and it resonated in the empty corridor. George stopped and slowly turned around. Her previously put-together facade had crumbled before him in seconds, there was no sign now of the determination in her eyes, there was just sadness.

"What happened?" his voice softened, there was no sign of the icy tone from before. She looked around once more, looking really paranoid, so George figured that the safest way to get her to speak plainly was to go to a place they couldn't be overheard by accident. He half turned his body and pulled from one of the knight's arms, the left one to be precise, and instead of falling off like it was supposed to, a small opening appeared on the wall beside them. Cassie looked up at him, astonished, and he had a hard time trying not to let it go to his head.

Once they were inside the secret passage, the small entrance closed and for a moment darkness engulfed them. "Lumos" George whispered and the darkened passage lit up instantly, making it possible for him to notice how close they were standing and forcing him to take a step back, no matter how much he didn't want to. "Now you can speak freely. What happened?" He asked her again, and this time she answered without restrictions.