George Weasley's What Happened Next? [ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

Chapter 8

The next thing I knew, I was lying in a bed at St. Mungo's hospital...at least I thought it was St. Mungo's. One face stood from all the rest, a pale face with silvery-blue eyes...who was it? I know I had seen them before...George emerged from a group of yelling people and walked towards me. He reached for my hand and squeezed it, staring at my face. I don't think he knew that I was awake...or maybe he did. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, filled with sadness I had never seen before. Did he really care this much for me? 

"Cindy?" he whispers in a voice so low I almost couldn't hear him. I open my eyes slowly, stinging exposed to the light. His eyes instantly fill with joy, and the tears flowing down harder than ever. 

"George," I croak, my throat sorer than ever, "w-what happened?"

"That sick Malfoy!" he says with hatred, "came up behind you from the open window and cursed you with Slug Barfing jinx. A spell Ron had done in his second year! You've been hacking them up ever since. He's here now to pay for the bills..."

I looked around, noticing that the group of people that had been there a few seconds before had dispersed. Three people were at the door: Molly and Arthur Weasley, and the blond boy I thought to be Malfoy. I was immensly angry at him now. First he tricked my parents, now me! How low can you go? 

"Anything else I should be mad at?" I ask him glaringly. 

"He keeps blaming his SON for it..." George says awkwardly. I look at Malfoy trying to explain that his son actually did do it and was now ON HIS KNEES begging! Maybe it was...

"George," I murmur, careful to make sure no one hears me, "do you have a pair of Extendable Ears on you?"

He cackled and pulls out a set of ears with a string connecting them. He slides one next to Draco's feet (he has amazing aim) and presses one next to me.

"PLEASE!" Draco begs, "I SWEAR! My son did do it!!! Please forgive him! I'll pay and make sure she gets better, but please don't be mad! He's just a boy!"

"Psh," Molly says, "You should be ashamed! Blaming your son. How could yo-"

"Actually," a man dressed in lime green robes come out of a door, "he's not lying. We checked his son's wand, and the last spell he did was indeed a Slug Eating Jinx!"

"I told you!" Malfoy gets up and dusts his knees. He clears his throat and makes his way to a checkout. Before leaving, he tells the man in the lime green (who I assume is a Healer) 

"Goodbye to you too," I hear Arthur mutter under his breath.

"Of course," the Healer continues, "the father will be paying for the charges. Like father, like son. When Draco was a boy, he was in trouble for jinxing people almost every summer! Don't worry though, she'll be cured in no time at all...I think she has already! Look at her!"

All three turn around to look at me, and start walking my way. George reels in the ears so quickly I only caught a glimpse. 

"How are you feeling, Cindy dear?" Molly looks at me worriedly. Arthur carries the same expression on his face. I feel immensly lucky to have them around.

"Fine," I lie, "just fine."

What a liar I am. I felt like I was going to choke any second, but I didn't say that. I was hoping to do something...

"Can I see my parents? Darleen and Samuel Fortescue?" I ask hopefully, trying hard not gag.

"Of course you may!" the Healer walks over to a door which looks like an exit, "George Weasley will take you, of course! If he doesn't mind...?"

He looks over to George, who's nodding his head eagerly. I smile at him, and he grabs my hand, pulls me up, and keeps me balanced. We walk out the door, and he sits us down. He gives me kiss on the cheek, then smiles. 

"I was really worried you know," he tells me. I give him a peck on the cheek, careful not to spill any slugs on him. 

"I saw," I reply, blushing furiously. I only knew I was blushing because I saw from a mirror behind him. "I've never met someone who cared for me so much they would cry..."

"Why not?" he grins, "I love you, and I don't see why anyone wouldn't! Now, shall we go see your parents? I don't think they've heard the news yet?"

He lifts me from my and puts my left arm over his shoulder. We walk to the elevator and he pushes the button labeled Potion and Plant Poisoning. When we arrive, we walk over to the Carrey Underloft Ward, where my parents were, and other long-term patients. I enter, and see a couple side by side, gray hair everywhere, and patches of brown hair on both of them. I walk over and grab one of their hands. George goes to my mum.

"Dad," an old man's face(once belonging to my yound and happy father) looks up at me and his face immediately lights up, "hi!"

"CINDY!" his voice booms, "Darleen, look who's here!" 

The woman next to him and George turns her head, large bags under her eyes, "Cindy, is that you?!" 

"Yeah mom," I whisper and I feel tears running down my throat, "how are you two?"

"We're doing wonderful!" she smiles at me hopefully. I just don't know why, but I feel as though she's lying. She continues, "we'll be out of here in, I think Healer Philips said, one week! Isn't wonderful?!"

My heart lifts and starts beating hard. My parents would not only be at my wedding, but also help with the planning!

"Yes!" I say, smiling from ear to ear, and look at my dad, "this is wonderful! George, you think they could move in to the Burrow? Don't worry if they can't, but their house was sold a while ago..."

"OF COURSE!" George yells, "Mum and dad should get to know them really well!'

"My thoughts exactly," I reply, still staring from mum to dad.

"Why-who?" mum looks from my beaming face to George's.

"Mum," I begin to explain, "George and I...we're-"

"Out with it Cindy!" My dad says, a laugh in his voice.

"We're getting married!" George announces. I see my parents' faces light up with joy. 

"CINDY!" my mum says excitedly, "This. Is. Wonderful! We always knew you two would! When did this happen? Tell us all about it!"

"Please do!" my dad looks at George, and I can't help feeling that he was examining George's fine features. So we tell him, turn by turn, every single detail of how it happened, right down to his getting on his knees and proposing. They nodded and my mum even giggled a few times! Especially when George told her the details of his getting down on his knees. Parts that I didn't know! He had been fumbling in his pockets for the case with a ring in it for a few seconds before getting on his knees. I laughed at that part really hard. I tried to imagine him in the dark and sticking his hands in his pockets looking for a felt case. We said goodbye, and went to meet  up with the Weasleys. We went to the Burrow after that to explain that Darleen annd Samuel Fortescue would be moving in in a week, and we had Firewhiskey and Butterbeer once again (they closed the windows just in case) and then, before we knew it, it was late and time to go home.